Sowore: How Nigerian govt filed charges against X, Facebook without stating offences

On Tuesday, the Nigerian government filed criminal charges against activist Omoyele Sowore, naming US-based social media giants Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) as co-defendants. However, PREMIUM TIMES review shows that while the two platforms were listed in court filings as co-defendants, they were not tied to any offence in the charges.

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The charges centered on Mr Sowore’s posts on Facebook and X in August, calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal.

Two counts alleged violations of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act, while the remaining three claimed defamation against Mr Tinubu under the Criminal Code Act.

A review of the charges shows that all the allegations in each of the five counts were directed at Mr Sowore, who was accused by the prosecution of posting messages and publishing materials via his Facebook and X accounts to defame Mr Tinubu and cause fear and disturbance in Nigeria.

But none of the five counts disclosed any offence committed by Facebook’s and X’s parent companies, although they were listed as the second and third defendants alongside Mr Sowore, who is the first defendant.

The absence of any allegations against Facebook or X in the charges leaves the platforms technically with nothing to defend in the case.

The case was filed on behalf of the Nigerian government by Mohammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice.

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It came about a week after the State Security Service (SSS), Nigeria’s secret police, threatened both X Incorp and Meta (Facebook) Incorp in separate letters to delete Mr Sowore’s posts and deactivate his accounts or face the consequences.

SSS, which has a history of arresting and instigating the prosecution of Mr Sowore over his public views, also warned the activist to delete his latest social media posts calling Mr Tinubu a criminal.

Mr Sowore wrote to both X Incorp and Meta Incorp to defend his posts. He informed the US-headquartered corporate bodies that the call by the SSS was the latest in a series of harassments, rights violations, mistreatments he has received from the government over his public views and civic actions.

He also replied to the SSS, insisting he would not delete the posts. Mr Sowore shared copies of the charges via his social media accounts on Tuesday. It was also shared by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.

Festus Ogun, a constitutional lawyer, said failure to disclose offences allegedly committed by the social media platforms amounted to arbitrariness signalling a desperate attempt to silence critics and suppress freedom of speech.

“Adding the platforms to the suit without charges against them only means that the government wants to create an atmosphere of fear,” Mr Ogun told our reporter.

Mr Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions could not be reached on phone. An SMS detailing our observation about the prosecution and requesting his comments, had not been responded to.

The charges

Four of the five charges centre on Mr Sowore’s all-capital-letter posts on Facebook and X reacting to a part of Mr Tinubu’s remarks during an official visit to Brazil at the time. Mr Sowore made the posts on 25 August.

In counts one and two, the prosecution alleged that Mr Sowore knew the posts to be false but shared it, all the same, “for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals, who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR).”

The act was said to be contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024, among other counts.

In counts three and four, which also have to do with the same posts, the prosecution accused Mr Sowore of publishing defamatory materials on Facebook and X “against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Amhed Tinubu (GCFR)”.

The act, according to the prosecution, was contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act. Count five accused Mr Sowore of publishing on 26 August false information via his Facebook and X handles “against the personality and reputation “ of Mr Tinubu, “with intent to cause public fear and disturbance”.

It alleged that the act was contrary to Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under the same Act. But the count does not refer to any post in particular.

No date has been fixed for the arraignment of the defendants.

READ THE CHARGES

COUNT 1:

That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did use your official handle page, @Yele Sowore, to send out a message/ tweet as : ‘THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY?’, which you know the said message to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.

COUNT TWO:

That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult male on or about the 26th day of August, 025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did use your official Facebook page, Omoyele Sowore, to send out a message/ post as: ‘THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY?’, which you know the said message/post to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.

COUNT THREE:

That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 25th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, using the instrumentality of X, via your official X account @Yele Sowore, did knowingly published defamatory material on your online platform viz: “THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY?’, against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act.

READ ALSO:Sowore sues SSS, X over his social media post on Tinubu

COUNT FOUR:

That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26″ day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, using the instrumentality of Facebook, via your official Facebook account Omoyele Sowore, did knowingly published defamatory material on your online platform viz: ‘THIS CRIMINAL @ OFFICIAL PBAT ACTUALLY WENT To BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO Le SHAMELESSLY?’, against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act.

COUNT FIVE:

That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male on or about the 26th day of August, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to cause public fear and disturbance, published false information on your official X and Facebook account @Yele Sowore, respectively, against the personality and reputation of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 59 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under the same Act.