The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday admitted as evidence a tweet by human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, describing President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”.
Sowore is standing trial in a two-count charge bordering on cyberstalking under Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, over posts made on August 25, 2025, on his X and Facebook accounts.
The Federal Government alleged the posts were false and capable of causing a breakdown of law and order.
Sowore was arraigned on January 19 and pleaded not guilty to both counts. The case is marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday before Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, the prosecution led by Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued that there is no provision in Nigerian jurisprudence mandating that a witness statement on oath in a criminal trial must be front-loaded.
However he informed the court that he had complied with the court’s directive by serving a summary of the witness statement, a list of witnesses, and documentary evidence on the defence.
However, Sowore’s counsel, Marshal Abubakar, countered that the documents relied upon by the prosecution were served on the defence on the same day of the hearing.
The trial judge asked him to reserve his objections for the trial period and ordered that the prosecution proceeds with its witnesses.
The prosecution opened its case by calling its first witness, a Department of State Services (DSS) operative, Cyril Nosike, works at the agency’s Cyberspace Monitoring Centre.
Nosike told the court that in the course of his official duties, he monitored a post made by Sowore on his verified X handle, where the defendant allegedly referred to President Tinubu as a criminal while reacting to a video of the President speaking in Brazil.
According to the witness, the post read: “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to say that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria.”
He said he downloaded the tweet, stored it on a flash drive, and produced a certificate of compliance in line with the Evidence Act. The flash drive and certificate were admitted by the court and marked as Exhibits A and B.
During the proceedings, a video clip of President Tinubu speaking in Brazil was played in open court.
Nosike further testified that after identifying the post, he took screenshots of the tweet, Sowore’s X and Facebook pages, and the reactions generated by the post, stating that it attracted engagements and reactions capable of causing public tension.
The screenshots of the reactions, along with a certificate of compliance, were admitted and marked as Exhibits C and C1. He added that the DSS formally wrote to the management of X and Meta Platforms Inc., requesting that the post be taken down, citing concerns that it was generating tension.
Screenshots of the letter and the accompanying certificate of compliance were tendered and marked as Exhibit D.
The witness also told the court that the DSS sent an official letter to Sowore through his lawyers, which was admitted as Exhibit E. He said Sowore subsequently posted a screenshot of the DSS letter on his X account, and that screenshot was tendered and admitted as Exhibit F.
“Such posts make our work more difficult, and we take them very seriously,” Nosike told the court.
Following the testimony, Abubakar requested for an adjournment to help him prepare to cross-examine the witness.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the matter to January 27, 2026, for cross-examination of the prosecution’s witness.
