Sowore loses bid to tender Tinubu’s anti-Jonathan comment

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a request by the defence team of activist Omoyele Sowore to tender documents in his ongoing cyberbullying trial. Sowore is accused of cybercrime for describing President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in a social media post on August 25, 2025.

The documents in question included statements allegedly made by President Tinubu in 2011, in which he reportedly criticized former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo. Sowore’s defence counsel, Marshal Abubakar, sought to introduce these statements, arguing they were relevant to demonstrate inconsistencies in Tinubu’s past positions on corruption.

However, Justice Mohammed Umar ruled against the admission of the documents, explaining that they could not be introduced through the testimony of the prosecution’s first witness, who was not familiar with their contents. Abubakar had attempted to use these documents to show that President Tinubu’s past criticisms of corruption, including labeling Jonathan as a “drunkard” and Obasanjo as “expired meat,” were inconsistent with his current stance on fighting corruption in Nigeria.

The defence also sought to submit evidence about corruption within Nigerian public institutions, citing reports about dismissals and prosecutions by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), including the prosecution of five governors and arrests related to a N7.2 billion fraud. Abubakar argued that these documents were essential to demonstrate that corruption is still ongoing in Nigeria, including within anti-graft agencies.

Prosecution counsel Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) objected to both sets of documents, arguing they were irrelevant to the cyberstalking charges against Sowore. Kehinde also stressed that the witness had no knowledge of the documents, and they failed to meet the requirements of Section 84 of the Evidence Act.

Justice Umar upheld the prosecution’s objections, ruling that the documents, including those containing Tinubu’s alleged anti-Jonathan and anti-Obasanjo comments, could not be admitted as evidence in the case.

The DSS witness further testified that he was unaware of Nigeria’s ranking on global corruption indices and denied any knowledge of social media posts by political figures such as Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokri, which accused President Tinubu of corruption, drug trafficking, and involvement in the death of former Lagos governorship candidate Funsho Williams.

At the close of proceedings, Abubakar requested an adjournment to continue cross-examining the witness. Justice Umar adjourned the case until March 5, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination.