FG Slams Sowore with Cybercrime Charges as Activist Countersues DSS over Social Media Censorship

The Federal Government, acting on a request by the Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday filed criminal charges against activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, over a social media post in which he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”

Sowore dismissed the charges, responding with a lawsuit against the DSS before the Federal High Court in Abuja. He is challenging what he described as unconstitutional attempts to censor his social media accounts.

In a five-count charge (FHC/ABJ/CR/481/2025) filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, M.B. Abubakar, the government accused Sowore of violating provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as the Criminal Code. The charges also list X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (owners of Facebook) as co-defendants.

The case stems from Sowore’s August 25 post on X, criticizing Tinubu’s comments during a visit to Brazil, where the President claimed his administration had eradicated corruption. The DSS subsequently demanded Sowore delete the post, calling it “false, malicious, and inciting,” while also petitioning Meta and X Corp. to deactivate his accounts.

Sowore, however, refused, insisting that holding leaders accountable is a constitutional duty. Hours after the charges were filed, his lawyer, Tope Temokun, announced a counter-suit, asking the court to stop the DSS from pressuring social media platforms to remove his posts.

Temokun argued that censorship of political speech violates Section 39 of the Constitution, warning that allowing security agencies to dictate content on global platforms would threaten free expression in Nigeria.

“This is about the survival of free speech. If state agencies can dictate who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe,” Temokun said.

The activist is seeking declarations that the DSS lacks authority to censor Nigerians online, that Meta and X must resist unlawful censorship, and that citizens’ rights must be safeguarded against state interference.

As of Tuesday, neither Sowore’s suit nor the government’s case had been assigned to a judge.