The Federal High Court in Abuja has declined a request by the Department of State Services (DSS) to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, in a defamation and cybercrime case filed against him.
Sowore was expected to appear in court on Wednesday for arraignment on a five-count charge bordering on defamation and cybercrime. The DSS, through its counsel Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), urged the court to order his arrest over his absence, arguing that he was evading trial.
The charges stem from an August 25, 2025 post on Sowore’s social media handle, where he allegedly referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.” The post came after Tinubu, during an official visit to Brazil, claimed his administration had ended corruption in Nigeria.
The prosecution said Sowore’s comment was intended to “incite public disorder” and “tarnish the reputation of the President.” The DSS also joined X Corporation (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook) as co-defendants for hosting the allegedly defamatory content.
According to the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, Sowore’s post violated Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as Sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
The DSS told the court it had written to both social media companies demanding that Sowore’s accounts be suspended and the post deleted, but said its requests were ignored.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar held that issuing a bench warrant at this stage would be “premature,” noting that X Corporation had not yet been fully served with the court documents. He directed that all defendants be properly served before the next hearing and adjourned the case to December 2 for arraignment.
One of the counts reads:
“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 X Handle page, @YeleSowore, to send out a message/tweet as: ‘THIS CRIMINAL @OFFICIALPBAT 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 to be false but posted it for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country…”
Justice Umar warned that the court would not hesitate to take appropriate action if Sowore failed to appear at the next sitting.
