The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a criminal case against Omoyele Sowore, a politician and publisher, over social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”
According to court documents submitted to the Federal High Court in Abuja, Sowore faces a five-count charge, including accusations of spreading false and defamatory statements on both X and Facebook.
Meta and X, the platforms where the posts were published, have also been named as co-defendants in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025.
The DSS claims Sowore’s comments violated provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Criminal Code Act.
The controversial post, shared on August 25, 2025, alleged that President Tinubu falsely claimed there was no more corruption under his administration during a visit to Brazil.
Sowore reportedly described this as “audacity to lie shamelessly.”
The charges accuse him of deliberately inciting unrest and discrediting the President’s reputation.
Despite a DSS request for Meta and X to remove the posts, both platforms declined to comply, and Sowore refused to delete the content.
The DSS alleges that the posts were made with the intent to cause public fear and disturbance, particularly among individuals with differing opinions on the President.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and founder of Sahara Reporters, is expected to be arraigned in court soon.
