The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, until October 27.
Justice Mohammed Umar gave the ruling on Tuesday to allow Sowore adequate time to prepare his defence.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), is facing a five-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government. Also joined in the suit are X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Inc.
The charge, dated September 16 and marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, alleges that Sowore made false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in posts on his Facebook and X accounts. Prosecutors say the comments were intended to incite public disorder, contrary to Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Sowore was present in court alongside counsel for Meta, but X Inc. had no representation. While the DSS counsel, Mohammed Abubakar, applied for the charge to be read, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, objected, arguing that his client had not been properly served and that the presence of all defendants was required.
The court confirmed that X and Meta had been served electronically, after which Justice Umar permitted service of the charge on Sowore in open court. Sowore’s counsel then sought an adjournment to enable him to prepare in line with Section 282(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
The judge subsequently adjourned the case to October 27 for arraignment.
