Court Rejects Sowore’s Documents in Cyberstalking Trial Against Tinubu, Adjourns Cross‑Examination to March 5
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, on Wednesday declined to admit two sets of documents tendered by former presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, in his ongoing trial for alleged cyberstalking against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In separate rulings, the court held that the documents could not be introduced through the prosecution witness, who expressly stated that he had no knowledge of them. Justice Umar ruled that documents must be tendered during the defendant’s case‑in‑chief, not through a witness unfamiliar with their contents.
The Federal Government, through the Department of State Services (DSS), is prosecuting Sowore—convener of the #RevolutionNow protest—over social media posts in which he allegedly described President Tinubu as a criminal.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, attempted to orally tender several publications, including reports on DSS dismissal of 115 officials for misconduct, EFCC’s prosecution of five former governors for corruption, EFCC’s dismissal of 27 officers for fraud, and EFCC’s arrest of ex‑NNPCL staff over a ₦7.2 billion fraud.
Justice Umar, agreeing with prosecuting counsel Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, rejected the documents, stressing that they could not be admitted through a witness who disclaimed knowledge of them.
In a second ruling, the court similarly rejected publications alleging that President Tinubu had, in 2011, described former President Goodluck Jonathan as a “drunkard” and “sinking fisherman,” and former President Olusegun Obasanjo as “expired meat.” The judge marked them rejected for the same procedural reason.
The court also addressed concerns raised by the prosecution that previous proceedings had been live‑streamed without authorization. Justice Umar warned that such conduct amounts to contempt of court and suggested that security agencies could investigate. Defence counsel denied involvement, urging the court to issue only a caution.
During cross‑examination, DSS official Cyril Nosike (PW2) testified that President Tinubu’s official X (Twitter) handle at the time of the alleged post was @officialABAT, not @PBAT as suggested by the defence. Nosike repeatedly stated that he was unaware of various corruption‑related reports cited by Abubakar, including Transparency International’s global corruption index, EFCC prosecutions, and alleged remarks attributed to Tinubu about past presidents.
He acknowledged knowing former President Obasanjo but denied awareness of any derogatory remarks attributed to Tinubu. He also confirmed knowledge of Femi Fani‑Kayode and Reno Omokri as ambassador designates but denied awareness of social media posts linking Tinubu to the murder of Funso Williams or drug trafficking allegations.
After nearly two hours of cross‑examination, Justice Umar queried defence counsel on the prolonged questioning, noting that Abubakar had already exceeded the time previously requested. Nevertheless, in the interest of fairness, the court granted one final adjournment for continuation of cross‑examination, fixing the matter for 5 March.
