Court Adjourns Sowore Arraignment to October 27 for Defence Preparation

The Federal High Court in Abuja has shifted the arraignment of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, to October 27, 2025, to allow him time to prepare his defence.

Justice Mohammed Umar granted the adjournment on Tuesday after Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, objected to taking pleas, arguing that the five-count charge had not been formally served on his client and that all defendants in the multi-party case must be properly represented.

FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, filed on September 16, lists the Department of State Services (DSS) as the prosecutor and names Sowore, X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (owners of Facebook) as first, second and third defendants.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2019 and 2023, faces allegations tied to social-media posts said to defame President Bola Tinubu.

When the case was called, Sowore and counsel for Meta were present; no lawyer appeared for X. DSS counsel Mohammed Abubakar asked that the charge be read to enable pleas, but the defence objected, citing lack of service and the absence of the second defendant.

Justice Umar noted from the record that Meta and X had been served electronically by email. The court then allowed the DSS to serve Sowore in open court, a step neither Sowore’s counsel nor Meta’s counsel, Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, SAN, opposed.

Prosecution subsequently applied for an adjournment to give the first defendant adequate time to prepare in line with Section 282(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. The court granted the request and fixed October 27 for arraignment.

According to the charge, filed shortly after the DSS asked Sowore to delete the disputed posts, the alleged offences contravene provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, including Section 24(1)(b). 

One count references an August 25 post on Sowore’s X handle @YeleSowore that referred to the president as “a criminal,” which the prosecution says is false and capable of inciting public disorder.

The court will next take pleas and address preliminary issues when proceedings resume on October 27.