The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the no-case submission filed by activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, in the cyberbullying case brought against him by the Department of State Services over alleged defamatory remarks against President Bola Tinubu.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring Sowore to enter his defence.
The DSS accused Sowore of cyberbullying and alleged that he referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sowore had asked the court to discharge and acquit him, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish any link between him and the alleged offences. However, the court ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution was sufficient to warrant a defence.
Following the ruling, tension arose in the courtroom as Sowore accused the judge of bias and requested that the matter be reassigned to another judge. His lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, also alleged that the court favoured the prosecution during proceedings.
Counsel for the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, opposed the request and urged the court to dismiss the oral application.
Justice Umar directed Sowore to file a formal application for recusal stating the grounds for his request. The matter was adjourned until May 19 for Sowore to open his defence and for hearing on the recusal application.
