•Omoyele Sowore and policeman
Human rights activist and #FreeNnamdiKanuNow campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, was re-arrested by the Nigerian Police shortly after his appearance at the Kuje Magistrate Court today.
Sowore, alongside Nnamdi Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, a former member of Kanu’s legal team, Aloy Ejimakor and ten others, had earlier met their bail conditions, reports Channels TV.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’id, granted them bail in the sum of ₦500,000 each, with two sureties residing in the Federal Capital Territory, possessing valid identification, and a three-year tax clearance.
The defendants were also directed to submit their international passports.
The ruling followed their arraignment on charges of unlawful assembly and disturbance of public peace, after they were arrested during Thursday’s protest demanding the release of detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Despite meeting the bail conditions, only Sowore was reportedly picked up again and whisked away by police officers to Kuje Prison shortly after the proceedings.
He is expected to be arraigned on Monday, October 27, on a fresh charge related to his claim that President Bola Tinubu is a criminal.
Five-Count Charge
Sowore, in late August, faulted Tinubu’s Brazil trip, writing on X, “This criminal @official ABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is NO MORE corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
On September 8, the Department of State Services (DSS) filed a five-count charge against Sowore, for allegedly publishing false and inciting statements against Tinubu on social media.
The move followed a one-week ultimatum issued to Sowore by the DSS, demanding that he retract what the agency described as a “false, malicious, and inciting” post about the president.
In a letter dated September 7, the service accused Sowore of making “criminal and derogatory” remarks against President Tinubu in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on August 26, where he referred to the President as a “criminal” and accused him of lying about corruption under his administration.
The DSS, through its Director of Legal Services, Uwem Davies, said the post could “incite public disturbance, disunity, and even insurrection.” The agency warned that failure to comply with its demand would compel it to “explore all lawful means” to safeguard national security and public order.
Sowore, however, declined to delete the post, stating on X: “One option I will not be taking is deleting that tweet. Thank you, @X.”
Following the expiration of the ultimatum, the DSS, on September 16, filed charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The suit also listed social media companies X Corp and Meta Inc. (Facebook) as co-defendants for failing to delete Sowore’s accounts.
According to the charge sheet, Sowore is accused of knowingly publishing false information likely to cause public disorder, contrary to Sections 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and 375 and 59 of the Criminal Code Act.
The prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Muhammed Abubakar, alleged that Sowore used his verified social media handles to post defamatory content aimed at inciting Nigerians against the President.
Counter-suit
In response, Sowore filed two fundamental rights suits at the Federal High Court, Abuja, against the DSS, Meta Inc., and X Corp.
His lawyer, Tope Temokun, described the DSS’s actions as “unconstitutional censorship,” warning that “if state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe.”
Temokun stated that the lawsuits seek declarations that the DSS has no legal power to censor Nigerians on social media and that Meta and X should not serve as “tools of repression.”
He added that “censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy” and that Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression without interference”
On September 30, Sowore was sighted at the Federal High Court in Abuja for his arraignment on the five-count charge, with X Corp and Meta Inc. listed as co-defendants.
