Activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore will be before Justice Abdullah Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
This comes after he was arrested and detained by the police on Monday, January 27, 2025.
Sowore’s lawyer Marshall Abubakar confirmed the arraignment, saying the police have filed charges against his client.
Sowore was taken to the Intelligence Response Team detention facility in Abuja after he turned down the administrative bail conditions offered by the police.
He was invited to the Force Intelligence Headquarters in Abuja where he was accused of resisting and obstructing public officers, disobedience to lawful orders, cyberstalking and preventing arrests.
The charges, FHC/ABJ/CR/23/2025 dated January 28, 2025, has the Inspector General of Police (IGP) as the complainant and Sowore as the sole defendant.
The case is about a series of posts Sowore made on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle which the prosecution claims was intended to incite public disturbance and damage the reputation of the Nigeria Police Force.
Charges
Count one accuses Sowore of intentionally publishing false information on December 13, 2024 through his X handle. He allegedly wrote “Illegal IGP Kayode Egbetokun” on his handle.
The prosecution says this was done to cause public disturbance, contrary to Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 as amended 2024. This is punishable under Section 24(2)(c)(ii) of the same Act.
In the second count, Sowore is accused of tagging the official X handle of the Nigeria Police Force (@policeNG) in a post that contains threats.
The prosecution says the post was intended to incite Nigerians against the police and harm the reputation of the IGP and the Nigeria Police Force. This is also under Section 24(2)(c)(ii) of the Cybercrime Act.
The third count is about a post he made on December 20, 2024 where he wrote “The illegal IG of Nigeria Police Force, Kayode Egbetokun, will make the next #ENDSARS inevitable! He is working towards it. Just a matter of time. #EgbetekunMustGo #Revolution”.
The prosecution says this is false and intended to cause a breakdown of law and order.
This is not an isolated case but part of a bigger pattern of clashes between activists and the police in Nigeria. Sowore is a big name in the #RevolutionNow movement and has been arrested multiple times in the last few years on charges related to his activism.
His case raises questions about national security and individual rights in a democratic society.
As the arraignment approaches, all Nigerians will be watching. The outcome of this case will have far reaching implications for freedom of speech, role of social media in activism and the relationship between the government and the people.