Micah Jonah
February 5, 2026
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday rejected documents sought to be tendered by the defence in the ongoing cyberbullying trial of activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore.
Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that the documents could not be properly admitted through the prosecution’s first witness, who told the court that he was not aware of their contents.
Sowore is standing trial on two amended counts of cybercrime for allegedly describing President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in a social media post made on August 25, 2025. The post followed a statement credited to the President during a visit to Brazil, where he said corruption in Nigeria had ended under his administration.
During cross examination, defence counsel, Marshal Abubakar, attempted to tender online publications relating to alleged corruption within public institutions, including reports of dismissals and prosecutions carried out by the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Abubakar told the court that in 2025, the DSS dismissed 115 officers over corruption allegations, while the EFCC dismissed 27 staff for fraud and misconduct, prosecuted five Governors, arrested officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in connection with an alleged N7.2bn fraud.
He argued that the documents were relevant to the defence as they showed that corruption was still prevalent in Nigeria, including within anti graft agencies.
The defence also sought to tender documents allegedly containing statements credited to President Tinubu in 2011, in which he was said to have described former President Goodluck Jonathan as a “drunkard and sinking fisherman” and his administration as “corrupt and shameless,” while referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo as “expired meat.”
Abubakar argued that the alleged statements were relevant to the case, noting that they showed Tinubu’s past criticisms of corruption while in opposition.
Prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they were irrelevant to the cyberstalking charges against Sowore, also failed to meet the requirements of Section 84 of the Evidence Act.
Kehinde further told the court that the witness through whom the documents were sought to be tendered neither produced them nor had knowledge of their contents.
Justice Umar upheld the prosecution’s objections, ruled that the documents, including those containing Tinubu’s alleged comments against Jonathan and Obasanjo, could not be admitted in evidence.
The DSS witness also told the court that he was unaware of Nigeria’s position on global corruption indices and denied knowledge of social media posts by political figures accusing President Tinubu of corruption, drug trafficking, or involvement in the death of former Lagos governorship candidate, Funsho Williams.
At the close of proceedings, defence counsel applied for an adjournment to continue cross examination. Justice Umar adjourned the matter until March 5, 2026.
