By Joy Yesufu
The Federal High Court, Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, to October 27.
Sowore faces a five-count charge bordering on alleged cybercrime.
Justice Mohammed Umar postponed proceedings on Tuesday to allow Mr Sowore, a two-time presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), adequate time to prepare his defence.
The case, filed by the State Security Service (SSS) on behalf of the Federal Government, lists Mr Sowore, X Inc. (formerly Twitter), and Meta (Facebook) Inc. as first to third defendants respectively. The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, was dated September 16.
Prosecutors allege that on August 25, Mr Sowore described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal” in posts shared on his X and Facebook accounts.
The posts, according to the charge, were intended to incite public disorder and contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
During Tuesday’s sitting, counsel for the SSS, Mohammed Abubakar, requested that the charge be read to the defendants.
However, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, objected, arguing that his client had not been properly served and that X Inc.’s absence in court made the arraignment premature.
The court confirmed that both X and Meta had been served electronically. Justice Umar subsequently directed that the charge be served on Sowore in open court. Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, represented Meta.
Mr Abubakar then sought an adjournment in line with Section 282(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which entitles a defendant to sufficient time to prepare a defence. Justice Umar granted the request and adjourned the matter to October 27 for arraignment.
