Department of State Services (DSS) has brought cybercrime charges against political activist Omoyele Sowore and two others for allegedly publishing false posts aimed at President Bola Tinubu to incite a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria.
The charges were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with social media platforms X Incorporation (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) also named as defendants.
In the five-count charge sheet, Sowore, who is known for leading the RevolutionNow protests, is accused of using his official X account on August 25, 2025, to tweet that Tinubu “shamelessly lied” about the absence of corruption during his visit to Brazil.
The following day, he allegedly shared the same message on his official Facebook page with the intent of causing unrest among Nigerians with different views of the president.
Further counts accuse Sowore of publishing defamatory material against President Tinubu’s reputation via his X handle, in violation of Section 375 of the Criminal Code.
The DSS also alleges that Sowore used his Facebook platform to disseminate defamatory content. The final charge claims Sowore intended to cause public fear and disturbances through false information harming the president’s reputation.
These charges underscore the government’s stance against what it sees as the use of social media for spreading misinformation and defamation targeting national leaders.
