African Action Congress, AAC, presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has said criticising or calling President Bola Tinubu names does not constitute an offence, arguing that citizens have the right to express themselves under a democratic system.
Sowore made the statement on Monday during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, where he discussed freedom of expression and the treatment of people who criticise the President.
According to him, citizens should not be arrested simply for expressing negative opinions about the President.
“Criticising or calling President Tinubu names does not constitute an offence.”
Sowore said that if he were President and a person was arrested for criticising or insulting him, he would hold the intelligence officer responsible for the arrest accountable.
“If I were to be President and I heard someone had been arrested for criticising or calling me names, I would fire the intelligence officer because it means that the intelligence officer is not intelligent.”
He also argued that Tinubu himself has previously engaged in name-calling during his political career and therefore understands that criticism is part of democratic politics.
“In fact, to be fair to Tinubu, and I want to say this for the first time, he has said it several times that he doesn’t want anybody arrested or prosecuted for calling him any name,” Sowore said.
“He knew why he said that. He used to do name-calling too. He’s called President dead meat. He’s called people all kinds of names.”
Sowore’s comments come as he continues to face a cyberbullying case brought by the Department of State Services, DSS, over social media posts in which he described Tinubu as a “criminal” and criticised the President’s statements on corruption.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday adjourned the case until October 2, 2026, for Sowore to continue his defence. The DSS counsel told the court that the agency was ready to proceed with the case.
The AAC candidate maintained that democracy should protect the right of citizens to speak their minds, even when their comments are critical or offensive to those in government.
“He knows that under a democratic system of government, you are not supposed to go after people because they are speaking their minds,” Sowore said.
His comments come a day after the AAC filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging President Tinubu’s prolonged absence from Nigeria and the alleged failure to formally transfer presidential functions to Vice-President Kashim Shettima. The suit asks the court to determine issues surrounding compliance with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution.
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