Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of pro-democracy campaigner and publisher, Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore and two others on cybercrime charges to October 27.
Their scheduled arraignment was stalled due to the inability of the federal government to serve the charge sheet on the defendants.
When the matter was called, Sowore, through his defence counsel, Abubakar Marshall, protested that he had not seen a copy of the charge or been served as required by law.
Prosecution counsel, Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar, who is the Director of the Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), debunked the allegations of non-service of the charge and insisted that Sowore had been served.
At this point, Justice Mohammed Garba, after consulting the case file, found that Sowore had indeed not been served.
The DPPF subsequently applied for an order to serve him in the open court, which was granted.
Sowore personally accepted the service in the open court, but demanded three days to study the charge and prepare for his defence.
Though the DPPF objected to the request, it was granted by the Judge. The arraignment was subsequently fixed for October 27.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Professor Tayo Oyetibo SAN represented the third accused person, Metal Incorporation, while the second defendant, X, was not represented.
Sowore and the two accused persons were billed to be docked for allegedly making false posts against President Bola Tinubu, allegedly to cause breakdown of law and order in the country.
The criminal charges filed on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja have X. Incorporation and Meta (Facebook) as two other defendants.
In the 5-count criminal charges marked FHC/ABJ/CR)484/2025, Sowore was accused of using his official x handle page at Yele Sowore to tweet: “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!.
The alleged offending post, said to be contrary to Section 24(2) (b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024, was said to have been made on August 25, 2025, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
In count two, Sowore was said to have, on August 26, used his official Facebook page to send the same false message out for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among those who hold divergent views on the person of President Bola Tinubu.
The alleged offence is said to be contrary to Section 24(2) (b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024.
In count three, the activist was accused of using the instrumentality of X, via his official account X account at Yele Sowore to publish defamatory material on his online platform, to wit, “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 President Bola Tinubu.
He was said to have committed an offence contrary to section 375 of the Criminal Code.
The Department of State Service (DSS), which filed the charges on behalf of the federal government, also accused Sowore of using the instrumentality of his Facebook platform to publish defamatory material against Nigeria’s President, contrary to section 375 of the Criminal Code.
In count five, the defendant was alleged to have the intent to cause public fear and disturbances by publishing false information against the reputation of President Bola Tinubu, contrary to section 59 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under the same act.
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