ABUJA, 28 September 2026
Omoyele Sowore appeared at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday for the latest hearing in the case brought against him for calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal. Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the matter until 2 October so that the activist can continue his defence.
Sowore, the African Action Congress presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, returned from the United States the day before the hearing. He is charged under the Cybercrimes Act over posts published on X and Facebook in August 2025. In those posts he wrote that Tinubu had gone to Brazil and claimed there was no more corruption in Nigeria under his government.
The Department of State Services had earlier indicated it might ask the court to suspend the trial until after the 2027 presidential election so that Sowore could campaign without the case hanging over him. That plan was abandoned. Prosecuting counsel Akinlolu Kehinde SAN told the court he was ready to proceed and that his instructions were confidential. He expressed surprise that defence counsel Adeyinka Olumide Fusika SAN had referred to media reports of a possible lengthy adjournment.
The security service also failed to produce a witness who had been expected to give evidence. Olumide Fusika said that if no suitable official appears on the next date the defence will apply for an order compelling Director General Oluwatosin Ajayi to attend court himself.
Outside the court Sowore spoke to supporters. He alleged that the president had “run away” while he was abroad and was being given steroids to appear strong. He said both sides now want the case to continue and described it as a matter between the Nigerian people and the Nigerian state. He also set out campaign pledges on electricity supply, teachers’ pay, transport and free education, and stated that he would not join any opposition coalition.
Sowore has pleaded not guilty throughout. He has argued that the prosecution is an attempt to restrict political speech. The trial has already seen several delays, including a period in June when his bail was revoked after he failed to attend a hearing and he was remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre.
The case will resume on 2 October for further defence evidence.
By A.Ikechukwu
