A Federal High Court in Abuja has postponed the scheduled arraignment of political activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore over allegations of making false claims against President Bola Tinubu. The case has been rescheduled for October 27, 2025.
Sowore, founder of Sahara Reporters and a recurring presidential candidate under the African Action Congress (AAC), was to be arraigned on Tuesday alongside two other defendants — X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Inc. (owners of Facebook) — on a five-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Defence Objections Stall Proceedings
During the court session, prosecution counsel Mohammed Abubakar informed the court that the matter was set for arraignment and moved to have the defendants’ pleas taken.
However, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, raised objections, stating that X Inc. was not represented in court and that his client had not been properly served with the charge. He argued that under criminal procedure, all defendants must be present and properly served before an arraignment can proceed.
Justice Mohammed Umar, upon reviewing the case file, confirmed that X Inc. and Meta had been served electronically via email, but acknowledged that Sowore had not received personal service, as required by law.
The prosecution then sought leave to serve Sowore in open court, which the judge approved. Following the service, the defence requested an adjournment to give Sowore adequate time to study the charges and prepare his defence, in line with Section 282(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
Justice Umar granted the request and adjourned the case to October 27 for arraignment.
Background of the Case
The charges, filed on September 16, stem from claims allegedly made by Sowore on social media platforms Facebook and X. The DSS had previously asked both platforms to take down the content, which they described as misleading and damaging to the person of President Tinubu.
