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The Nigerian government has filed cybercrime charges against Sahara Reporters publisher and activist Omoyele Sowore, alongside the parent companies of Facebook and X, over recent social media posts in which Sowore described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal.
The case, brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, includes five joint counts of cybercrimes against Sowore and the tech giants. This development comes roughly a week after the State Security Service (SSS) demanded that both Meta (owner of Facebook) and X delete Sowore’s posts and deactivate his accounts, warning of consequences if they failed to comply. The SSS also ordered Sowore directly to remove the posts.
In response, Sowore wrote to Meta and X defending his remarks, arguing that the SSS directive was part of a long pattern of harassment, rights violations, and mistreatment he has endured due to his activism and public criticism of the government. He also rejected the SSS’s demand, making clear he would not delete his posts. On Tuesday, Sowore made the charges public by sharing copies through his social media accounts.
He wrote, “The State Security Service, alias @OfficialDSSNG today filed a 5-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja against ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) Facebook, and myself. They claimed that because I called Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu a criminal, I have somehow committed a set of “novel” offences they invented and spread across five counts.
“It’s hard to believe there’s anyone sensible left in these offices that should be making Nigeria work. Regardless, I will be present whenever this case is assigned for trial. #RevolutionNow.”
