The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 2, 2026, for the continuation of the defence of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, in his alleged cyberbullying case involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The development followed Monday’s proceedings, during which counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, indicated that he was ready for the case to proceed rather than seek the lengthy adjournment that had been widely reported in the media.
Reports in August had suggested that the DSS was considering seeking an adjournment until after the 2027 presidential election to allow Sowore to concentrate on his campaign.
Sowore is being prosecuted over social media posts published on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook in August 2025, in which he described President Tinubu as a “criminal” and criticised the President’s comments on corruption.
The DSS subsequently demanded that the posts be removed before commencing legal proceedings after Sowore declined to take them down.
During the course of the trial, the court dismissed Sowore’s no-case submission and directed him to enter his defence.
At Monday’s resumed hearing, Sowore’s lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, drew the court’s attention to media reports suggesting that the DSS would seek a lengthy adjournment to enable his client to concentrate on his presidential campaign.
Kehinde, however, expressed surprise that the defence counsel would rely on media reports concerning the prosecution’s intentions.
He argued that instructions between counsel and client were confidential and maintained that such reports should not form the basis of assumptions about the prosecution’s next step.
The DSS counsel subsequently informed the court that he was ready for the continuation of the defence.
Justice Mohammed Umar thereafter adjourned the case until October 2, 2026, for continuation of defence.
Sowore has denied wrongdoing in the case and has continued to defend the social media statements that led to his prosecution.
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