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The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, over an alleged false claim against President Bola Tinubu, to November 5, 2025.
The case, which was slated for Monday, could not proceed following the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, who was said to be sitting in another division of the court.
As a result, the arraignment of Sowore and the co-defendants — X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (owners of Facebook) — was rescheduled for November 5.
Justice Umar had earlier fixed the initial date of September 30 to enable Sowore adequate time to prepare his defence. He is standing trial on a five-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
According to the charge sheet, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025 and dated September 16, Sowore, X Inc., and Meta are listed as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd defendants respectively.
The DSS accused Sowore of making a false and defamatory statement against President Tinubu, alleging that he referred to the President as “a criminal” in posts shared on his X and Facebook accounts.
The charges were filed shortly after the DSS requested that the alleged defamatory posts be taken down from Sowore’s social media pages.
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One of the counts alleged that on or about August 25, 2025, Sowore used his verified 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 alleged that Sowore knew the statement to be false and that it was intended “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 DSS stated that Sowore’s action contravenes Section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, among other provisions.
The case will now come up on November 5 for formal arraignment and plea-taking.
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