Omoyele Sowore Slams Adekunle Gold Over 2-Year Prison Sentence for X User

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has strongly criticized Afrobeats singer Adekunle Gold and his wife, Simi, for taking legal action that led to a young man being sentenced to two years in prison over comments made on X (formerly Twitter).

The backlash follows a recent court ruling where an X user, identified as Adeboye Samuel, was handed a two-year custodial sentence under Nigeria's cybercrime and defamation laws. Samuel had reportedly posted a false and malicious viral claim alleging that the couple's young daughter, Deja, had passed away.

Reacting to the development in a viral interview, Sowore argued that public figures must learn to ignore false online rumors rather than relying on law enforcement and the judiciary to punish critics and internet commentators.

“How dare Adekunle Gold, after getting some little money and fame, send somebody to jail for two years for writing something we all know is not true? Yesterday people were calling me that my wife and children had died in the US. I simply called them to confirm they were alive and moved on,” Sowore stated.

To drive his point home, Sowore took to his social media handle to dig up a controversial 2012 tweet from Adekunle Gold during the "Occupy Nigeria" fuel subsidy protests. In that old post, the singer had written, "Dear God, if you give us Dagrin back, we will give you Jonathan in return."

Sowore noted that Adekunle Gold's past criticism of former President Goodluck Jonathan was protected under free speech, and argued that it is hypocritical for a celebrity who benefited from freedom of expression to weaponize the police and the "brutal cybercrime framework" against ordinary citizens over online banter. He further cautioned the Nigeria Police Force against acting as a private army for the rich and famous, urging the judiciary to stop criminalizing social media exchanges.

What are your thoughts on Sowore's stance? Should celebrities ignore malicious rumors about their children, or was jail time justified in this case? Please drop your comments below!

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