The trial of Omoyele Sowore, a prominent Nigerian activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, has taken a new turn. Sowore is facing charges for describing President Bola Tinubu as "a criminal" on social media. The State Security Service (SSS) had reportedly planned to seek a long adjournment of the trial to enable Sowore to participate in the 2027 presidential election campaign. However, the SSS lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, denied knowledge of the reported plan in court on Monday.
According to Premium Times, the SSS announced on August 30 that its Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, had directed Kehinde to take steps towards temporarily suspending the case. The SSS claimed that the decision was made to allow Sowore, a presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), to participate in the 2027 election campaign. The trial was expected to resume after the election, scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for January next year.
The SSS lawyer, Kehinde, explained the proposed suspension in a telephone interview with Premium Times, citing international conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory. These conventions include the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, when the issue was raised in court on Monday, Kehinde denied knowledge of the reported position. Sowore's lead lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, expressed surprise that the prosecution appeared ready to continue with the case despite the earlier reports about the SSS's plan to seek its suspension. Olumide-Fusika tendered newspaper publications containing reports of the proposed suspension, but Kehinde urged the court not to rely on social media accounts.
The disagreement centred on an earlier arrangement concerning the SSS official who was expected to testify for the defence. The defence had initially sought to subpoena the SSS Director-General, Ajayi, over a letter issued to Sowore in September 2025 concerning the social-media posts. Following an intervention by Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, in July, the defence agreed that another senior SSS official could appear in place of the Director-General.
After listening to the parties, Judge Muhammad Umar gave Sowore's legal team another opportunity to produce the witness and adjourned the case until October 2 for continuation of the defence. The case started with the SSS bringing charges against Sowore over social-media posts he made on X and Facebook in August last year. Sowore has maintained his position on the posts and denied wrongdoing. The prosecution closed its case earlier this year, after presenting a witness.
In May, Judge Umar dismissed Sowore's no-case submission and ordered him to enter his defence. Sowore subsequently opened his defence, with lawyer and public affairs commentator Deji Adeyanju appearing as his first witness in July. The case later stalled over the production of an SSS witness, leading to a series of exchanges between the prosecution and defence lawyers over the pace of the proceedings.
Key points
- The SSS has denied reports of a plan to suspend the cyberstalking trial of Omoyele Sowore until after the 2027 presidential election.
- The trial has stalled over the production of an SSS witness, with the defence team seeking to subpoena a senior SSS official.
- Sowore is facing charges for describing President Bola Tinubu as "a criminal" on social media.
