On November 25, 2025, the Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned Mr Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, at the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu. Appearing before Justice Mohammed Umar, Sowore pleaded not guilty, while his lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, challenged the competency of the charge when the matter was called for his plea.
According to reports, Abubakar told the court that a preliminary objection had been served on the counsel to the government, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), but noted that it was only handed to the DSS lawyer a few minutes before the proceedings began. He argued that his client could not enter a plea on what he considered an incompetent charge. In response, Kehinde strongly opposed Abubakar’s submission.
Mr Kehinde argued that the application was not yet ripe for consideration, noting that the business of the day was Sowore’s arraignment. He described the preliminary objections filed by Sowore’s lawyer as a tactic to delay the proceedings and reminded the court that numerous adjournments had already been granted at Sowore’s request.
Citing Section 396(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, Mr Kehinde emphasised that no application should be entertained before Sowore’s arraignment. Also, lawyers representing X Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Incorp, the second and third defendants, respectively, did not oppose the application, allowing the defendants to take their plea.
In a brief ruling, Justice Umar agreed with the DSS lawyer, ordering that Sowore’s arraignment should proceed. The DSS, in its charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, accused Sowore of making a false claim against President Bola Tinubu by labelling him “a criminal” on his X and Facebook accounts.
The security agency named Sowore, the 2019 and 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), as the first defendant, while joining X Incorp and Meta Incorp as the second and third defendants.
