Sowore Trial Twist: Court Rejects Documents Referencing Tinubu’s Past Criticism

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday declined to admit documents presented by the defence team of activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, in his ongoing trial over the alleged cyberstalking of President Bola Tinubu.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Sowore is standing trial on two amended cybercrime charges arising from an August 25, 2025 social media post in which he described President Tinubu as a “criminal,” following the President’s claim during a visit to Brazil that corruption had ended in Nigeria under his administration.

During cross-examination, Sowore’s counsel, Marshal Abubakar, sought to tender online publications allegedly containing derogatory remarks made by Tinubu in 2011 against former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo. The statements reportedly referred to Jonathan as “a drunkard and sinking fisherman,” described his administration as “corrupt and shameless,” and labelled Obasanjo as “expired meat.”

Abubakar argued that the documents were relevant in highlighting inconsistencies in Tinubu’s public stance on corruption and free expression, and were necessary to support Sowore’s defence.

However, trial judge Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that the defence could not introduce the documents through the prosecution’s first witness—a Department of State Services (DSS) operative—who had stated under oath that he had no knowledge of the materials.

The court held that since the witness neither authored the documents nor acknowledged familiarity with their contents, they were inadmissible as evidence.

Justice Umar also rejected additional documents tendered by the defence that referenced reports of alleged ongoing corruption in the country, including EFCC and DSS investigations, dismissals, and arrests involving public officials.

The DSS operative, who is the prosecution’s principal witness, told the court that he was unaware of Nigeria’s position on global corruption indices and could not confirm whether individuals such as Femi Fani-Kayode or Reno Omokri had publicly accused President Tinubu of corruption or other criminal acts on social media.

Abubakar had argued that the materials were intended to show Nigeria’s continued struggle with corruption, contending that Sowore’s post could not be considered false or criminal in light of widely documented challenges.

Objecting to the documents, prosecution counsel Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) maintained that the materials were irrelevant to the cyberstalking charges and failed to meet the requirements of Section 84 of the Evidence Act governing the admissibility of electronic evidence. He urged the court to strike them out as a distraction from the central issues in the case.

Justice Umar upheld the prosecution’s objection and formally ruled the documents inadmissible, further narrowing the scope of the defence.

At the end of the session, Abubakar applied for an adjournment to allow the cross-examination to continue at a later date.