Court to rule on Sowore’s no-case submission in trial on charges of cyberbullying Tinubu

Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, told the court that the prosecution failed to link his client to the alleged offences.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday fixed 8 May for ruling on the no-case submission filed by activist Omoyele Sowore in his cyberbullying trial over calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal”.

Judge Muhammed Umar fixed the date after lawyers for Mr Sowore and the State Security Service (SSS) adopted their final written addresses.

Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, told the court that the prosecution failed to link his client to the alleged offences.

Moving the no-case submission, filed on 21 April, he argued that the evidence presented did not establish “a prima facie case against the defendant “

“Upon the review of the evidence led by the prosecution, no case has been disclosed against him to warrant him to enter his defence,” he said.

Mr Abubakar added that he had formulated three issues for determination which he urged the court to answer in his favour.

Responding, SSS lawyer , Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the application.

He said the prosecution had established a prima facie case through its witnesses.

Mr Kehinde asked the court to order Mr Sowore to enter his defence.

After hearing both sides, judge Umar adjourned the matter to 8 May for ruling.

Also, the judge had earlier granted an application for extension of time moved by Mr Abubakar, with no objection from the prosecution.

Mr Abubakar told the court the motion for extension of time was filed on 4 May. He asked the court to deem it properly filed.

Backstory

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Sowore is being prosecuted for referring to the president as “criminal” in his posts via his X and Facebook handles last year.

He was originally charged alongside the parent companies of X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook on 5 December 2025.

But an amendment to the charges saw X Incorp and Meta (Facebook) Incorp dropped from the case as defendants. It left Mr Sowore as the sole defendant.

The amendment also pruned down the number of counts from five to two.

Following the amendment, the SSS rearraigned Mr Sowore, when he again pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecution closed its case after calling a witness from the office of the SSS.

However, instead of entering defence, Mr Sowore filed a no-case submission, urging the court to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the prosecution failed to link him to the alleged offences.