By Ade Oyeyemi
The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until October 2 the trial of the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, over alleged cyberbullying of President Bola Tinubu.
Sowore is facing prosecution by the Department of State Services over social media posts he made in August 2025 on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
In the posts, the activist reportedly referred to Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused the President of misrepresenting the extent of corruption in the country.
The development came on Monday when the case resumed, with the prosecution and defence disagreeing over the absence of a DSS witness subpoenaed by the defence.
Defence counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, told the court that his client was expecting a witness from the DSS and that the defence might not be able to proceed with its case without the witness.
He recalled that at the previous adjournment, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had reached an understanding with the defence that another DSS officer would appear in court on behalf of the agency’s Director-General, who had originally been subpoenaed.
According to him, no DSS representative appeared in court, leaving the defence with the option of seeking another adjournment or applying for a warrant to compel the witness to appear.
Olumide-Fusika also presented newspaper reports to the court concerning alleged plans by the DSS to ask for the proceedings to be suspended until after the next general elections.
The lawyer said he had expected the prosecution to request a lengthy adjournment when the court resumed, based on reports circulating in the media.
However, prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, argued that producing a defence witness was not the responsibility of the prosecution.
Kehinde urged the court to direct Sowore to proceed with his defence, warning that he might seek an order foreclosing the defence if the defendant failed to do so.
He also challenged the defence’s reliance on media reports, saying he was unaware of the publications and urging the court not to attach any weight to them.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar said the absence of the subpoenaed witness warranted giving the defence another opportunity to secure the witness’s attendance.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until October 2 for the continuation of Sowore’s defence.
The prosecution had earlier closed its case, following which Sowore filed a no-case submission. The court rejected the application and directed him to open his defence.
Sowore had also sought the recusal of Justice Umar from the case, alleging bias, but the application was rejected by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
