Sowore Absent As Court Fixes New Date For Cyberbullying Trial

The cyberbullying trial of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has been adjourned until November 3 after he failed to appear in court, citing his presidential campaign activities in Ekiti State.

Naija News reports that the case came up on Thursday, October 29, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), drew attention to Sowore’s absence.

Defence counsel, T. O. Etonyeaku, who said she was holding the brief of Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), told the court that Sowore had travelled to Ekiti State for campaign activities.

She asked the court to stand down the matter to allow another senior lawyer, who had arrived at the court premises before proceedings began, to take over the defence.

However, Justice Mohammed Umar drew the attention of both lawyers to a letter personally written to the court by Sowore and asked Kehinde whether he knew about it.

The prosecution counsel said he had not received a copy of the letter.

Kehinde argued that it was improper for a defendant who was represented by a lawyer to write directly to the court without copying the prosecution.

He also said there was no evidence that Sowore had ended his legal relationship with Olumide-Fusika, adding that the defendant should have communicated through his lawyer.

Despite his objections, Kehinde agreed to an adjournment in the interest of justice.

The prosecution counsel also informed the court that the defence had yet to respond to a written address he filed, following the court’s directive on whether he could be subpoenaed to testify as a defence witness.

Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the case until November 3 for the adoption of the written addresses and continuation of the defence.

The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over posts he made on 𝕏, formerly Twitter, and Facebook in August 2025.

In the posts, Sowore described President Bola Tinubu as a ‘criminal’ and accused him of lying about the level of corruption in Nigeria.