DSS Amend Charges Against Sowore, Reduces Counts From Five To Two

The Department of State Services (DSS) has revised the cybercrime charges it brought against Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters.

When the case resumed in court on Monday, DSS lawyer Akinlolu Kehinde told the court that the original five charges had been reduced to two.

Kehinde requested that Sowore be formally arraigned again based on the updated charges.

Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, raised no objection to the request.

The amended charges were then read in court, and Sowore pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

The DSS initially filed a five-count charge against Sowore on September 23 under suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025.

At the time, X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) were also listed as co-defendants.

The case is linked to a post Sowore made on X on August 25, in which he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” while responding to comments the president made about corruption during a visit to Brazil.

Before going to court, the DSS had asked X to suspend Sowore’s account and demanded that he withdraw the post and issue a public apology within seven days.

When Sowore refused, the agency proceeded with legal action. Earlier attempts to arraign him did not succeed.

In the revised charge, X and Meta have been dropped from the case, leaving Sowore as the only defendant.

The trial judge, Mohammed Umar, has adjourned the case until January 22 for the start of the trial.

KanyiDaily recalls that a Federal High Court in Lagos recently barred the police from arresting or intimidating Omoyele Sowore.