The Nigerian government has charged opposition politician Omoyele Sowore with cybercrime after he referred to President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal” in a social media post.
Court documents filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday indicate that Sowore faces five counts under the Cybercrimes Amendment Act, 2024. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, also lists Meta and X — the platforms where the post appeared — as co-defendants.
The charge stems from an August message on Sowore’s X account in which he accused Tinubu of lying about corruption levels in Nigeria. Prosecutors allege the statement was knowingly false and aimed at inciting disorder.
Sowore, publisher of the muckraking outlet Sahara Reporters, is a long-time critic of successive Nigerian governments. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 2019 and 2023 under the African Action Congress (AAC), campaigning on a platform of radical reforms.
The case comes just days after Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency, the Department of State Services (DSS), requested that the platforms take down the post. Rights groups have previously warned that Abuja’s cybercrime legislation risks being weaponised against journalists and opposition figures.
While supporters of President Tinubu argue the law is necessary to combat online misinformation, critics view the prosecution of Sowore as evidence of shrinking civic space in Africa’s most populous nation.
Sowore has yet to respond publicly to the charges.
