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By John Azu
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the no-case submission by activist, Omoyele Sowore in the charges of cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu brought against him by the Department of the State Service (DSS).
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar on Friday ruled that the secret police had sufficiently established a prima facie evidence linking Sowore to the alleged offences.
The judge, therefore, ordered Sowore to open his defence in the case on May 19.
However, Sowore and his lead counsel Marshal Abubakar Esq, have accused the judge of bias and asked him to recuse himself from the case so that it can be reassigned to another judge.
“Putting into cognizance the facts and circumstances of this case, it is our honest belief that another judge ought to decide this matter,” Abubakar said.
Earlier, Sowore’s lead counsel Abubakar Marshal submitted that after reviewing the evidence brought by the DSS, they could not find any link establishing the allegations against his client.
However, in a response filed on April 23, DSS counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), asked the court to refuse the application and order Sowore to enter his defence on the allegations of cybercrime.
Recall that the DSS had in 2025 brought the two-count charge against Sowore, which he denied any wrongdoing.
Sowore, who is the publisher of Sahara Reporters and former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was on September 23, 2025 charged with five-count alongside X (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) as co-defendants.
However, the charges were discontinued against the two social media platforms.
Sowore was alleged to have used his official X handle page @YeleSowore to tweet: “This criminal @OfficialPBAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
The alleged offending post said to be contrary to Section 24(2) (b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024 was said to have been made on August 25 within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.
In count two, Sowore was said to have on August 26, 2025 used his official page Facebook to send the same false message out for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in the country and posing a threat to life.
The alleged offence is said to be contrary to Section 24(2) (b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024; sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act.