Abuja (Nigeria): The Federal Government, on Tuesday, sued a politician, Omoyele Sowore, for allegedly cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu.
The FG, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, also joined Meta (Facebook) Inc. and X Incorp as defendants at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The criminal charge dated September 16 was filed by Mohammed Abubakar, Director of Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice.
In the five-count charge, Sowore, the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, was alleged to have made a false claim against the person of the President by referring to him as “a criminal.”
The charge was filed a few days after the Department of State Services (DSS) had requested the removal of the post on Facebook and X, the former Twitter, allegedly used by Sowore for the defamatory message.
Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2019 and 2023, is accused of contravening the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.
One of the charges alleged that Sowore, on or about August 25, used his official Twitter handle, @Yele Sowore, to send a message/tweet.
The message is said to be, “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 message, which he knew to be false, was posted “for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country, especially among individuals who hold divergent views on the personality of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR).”
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024, among other counts.