Department of State Services on Tuesday brought activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, before Federal High Court in Abuja on allegations of cybercrime.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sowore appeared before Justice Mohammed Umar and entered a not-guilty plea. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, contains five counts and lists X and Meta as co-defendants.
The charges relate to Sowore’s August 25 post on X, where he called President Bola Tinubu a criminal while reacting to the president’s comments on corruption during his visit to Brazil.
Before filing the case, the DSS had asked X to suspend Sowore’s account and demanded that he retract the post and issue a public apology within a week. Sowore refused, leading the agency to move forward with the suit after earlier attempts to arraign him failed.
Following his plea, his lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, applied for bail based on self-recognition, noting that Sowore is a former presidential candidate and has never absconded from previous court appearances.
The prosecution, represented by Akinlolu Kehinde, opposed the application and argued that Sowore should either be denied bail or face strict bail conditions, claiming he has a pattern of committing fresh offences when previously released.
In delivering his ruling, Justice Umar said court records show Sowore consistently attends proceedings, has his passport in the court’s custody, and has benefitted from bail in earlier cases. The judge rejected the prosecution’s request for tougher terms and granted bail to Sowore on self-recognition.
He cautioned Sowore to be mindful of his conduct and refrain from making statements capable of disrupting the country’s peace.
