The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, to October 27.

Justice Mohammed Umar granted the adjournment to allow Sowore time to prepare his defense.

Sowore is facing a five-count charge filed by the Department of State Services on behalf of the Federal Government, alongside X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. (owners of Facebook).

The charges allege that Sowore made defamatory statements about President Bola Tinubu, referring to him as “a criminal” in posts shared on his Facebook and X accounts.

When the case was called, Sowore and Meta’s legal representative were present, but no counsel appeared for X. DSS counsel Mohammed Abubakar requested that the charges be read to the defendants, but Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, objected, arguing that the charge had not been formally served on his client.

Justice Umar noted that court records showed both Meta and X had been served electronically via email. The DSS counsel then sought permission to serve the charge on Sowore in open court, which was granted. Abubakar requested an adjournment to give Sowore time to prepare his defense in accordance with Section 282(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. The court granted the request and adjourned the arraignment to October 27.

The charge was filed shortly after the DSS asked Sowore to remove the alleged defamatory posts from his Facebook and X accounts. Sowore is accused of violating the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.

In one of the counts, Sowore is alleged to have posted, “THIS CRIMINAL @OFFICIALPBAT ACTUALLY WENT TO BRAZIL TO STATE THAT THERE IS NO MORE CORRUPTION UNDER HIS REGIME IN NIGERIA. WHAT AUDACITY TO LIE SHAMELESSLY!” The message is alleged to be false and intended to incite public disorder.