On Friday in Abuja, the Federal High Court ruled that activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has a case to answer in the cyberbullying charges filed against him by the Department of State Services over alleged defamatory comments directed at President Bola Tinubu, leading the court to dismiss his no-case submission and order him to open his defence.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar gave the ruling after reviewing arguments from both sides in the ongoing trial at the Federal High Court. The DSS had charged Sowore with alleged cyberbullying linked to comments he made on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, where he allegedly referred to Tinubu as a criminal.
Sowore had asked the court to dismiss the charges and free him, arguing that the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence connecting him to the alleged offences. However, the judge ruled that the evidence already presented by the DSS was enough to require the activist to respond to the allegations in his defence.
Following the ruling, tension rose inside the courtroom as Sowore openly accused the judge of bias and claimed he would not receive fair treatment in the case. He requested that Justice Umar withdraw from the matter and send the case file back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge.
Sowore also alleged that the court was working with the Federal Government to secure his conviction ahead of the 2027 general elections. His lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, supported the request and argued that his client had lost confidence in the court’s handling of the matter.
Lawyer to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, opposed the oral request and urged the court to reject it. He argued that since Sowore was represented by legal counsel, he should not personally address the court on the issue.
In response, Justice Umar directed Sowore to file a formal application stating the reasons for asking him to step aside from the case. The judge later adjourned proceedings until May 19 for Sowore to begin his defence and for hearing on the application seeking the judge’s withdrawal from the matter.