A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has scheduled October 2, 2026, for Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), to continue his defence in the alleged cyber-bullying case brought against him by the government. Sowore is being prosecuted over his August 2025 published posts on X and Facebook describing President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accusing him of lying about corruption levels in the country.
At the conclusion of the prosecution’s case, Sowore made a no-case submission, which the court rejected and ordered him to enter his defence. He also lost in his bid to have the trial judge recuse himself from the case after his allegation of bias was rejected by the court’s Chief Judge. The defence lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, informed the court that the defendant was expecting a subpoenaed witness from the DSS but may be unable to proceed without the witness.
The prosecuting lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, told the court that the case was fixed for September 28 for Sowore to continue his defence. However, the defence lawyer stated that since the subpoenaed witness from the DSS was not in court, the defence would have no option but to apply for an adjournment. Olumide-Fusika recalled that the Attorney General of the Federation had reached an understanding with the defence that another officer of the DSS would represent the agency’s Director General, who was originally subpoenaed.
The defence lawyer tendered some newspaper publications where the DSS was reported to have promised to instruct its lawyer to seek the suspension of proceedings in the case until after the next general elections. Kehinde faulted the decision by Olumide-Fusika to rely on publications on social media in the conduct of his case, denying knowledge of such publications and urging the court to discountenance them.
Justice Mohammed Umar, the trial judge, gave the defence another chance to produce its witness, adjourning the case until October 2, 2026, for the continuation of defence in the criminal charges. The judge’s decision was based on the absence of the subpoenaed witness from the DSS. The case has been ongoing since August 2025, when Sowore made the posts that led to his prosecution.
There were social media reports last month that the DSS would seek an extended adjournment to enable Sowore to concentrate on his presidential campaign. However, Kehinde urged the court to order the defendant to proceed with his defence, failing which he would be forced to apply that the defence be foreclosed. The case is one of several legal challenges faced by Sowore, who is also contesting the 2026 presidential election.
The case will continue on October 2, 2026, with Sowore expected to present his defence. The outcome of the case is being closely watched, as it has implications for free speech and the use of social media in Nigeria. The court’s decision to adjourn the case has given Sowore another opportunity to prepare his defence and present his case.
Key points
- The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the alleged cyber-bullying case against Omoyele Sowore until October 2, 2026.
- Sowore is being prosecuted over his August 2025 published posts on X and Facebook describing President Tinubu as a “criminal”.
- The defence is awaiting a subpoenaed witness from the DSS, whose absence led to the adjournment of the case.
