Court Adjourns Sowore’s Arraignment in Tinubu Defamation Case to Nov. 5
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned the arraignment of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, to 5 November.
The hearing, fixed for Sowore and his co-defendants to take their plea, could not proceed due to the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, who was said to be sitting in another division.
The court subsequently rescheduled the arraignment of Sowore, X Inc. (formerly Twitter), and Meta (Facebook) Inc. — listed as the 1st to 3rd defendants respectively — to 5 November.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the adjournment followed a previous order on 30 September granting Sowore adequate time to prepare for his defence.
Sowore, who contested the presidency under the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2019 and 2023, faces a five-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025 and dated 16 September, accuses Sowore of making a false claim against President Bola Tinubu, whom he allegedly described as “a criminal” in posts on his X and Facebook accounts.
The DSS had earlier requested that the allegedly defamatory messages be taken down from Sowore’s social media handles.
In the charge, prosecutors allege that on or about 25 August, Sowore used his official X handle, @YeleSowore, to post the following message: “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!”
The prosecution contends that the post, which Sowore allegedly knew to be false, was intended to cause a breakdown of law and order among Nigerians holding divergent views on the President.
The alleged offence contravenes Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, among other provisions.
