The trial of former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu was stalled on Thursday following his absence from court and a letter he personally wrote requesting an adjournment.
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When the matter came up before Justice Mohammed Umar, prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, informed the court that the defendant was absent.
Defence counsel, T. O. Etonyeaku, who appeared on behalf of Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, explained that Sowore had travelled to Ekiti State for activities connected with his presidential campaign.
Etonyeaku subsequently applied for a stand-down to enable another senior lawyer, who had been present in court before proceedings commenced, to return and conduct the defence.
However, Justice Umar drew the attention of both counsel to a letter personally written by Sowore to the court, requesting an adjournment.
The judge asked the prosecuting counsel whether he was aware of the letter.
Responding, Kehinde informed the court that he had not been copied with the correspondence.
He argued that it was improper for a defendant who was already represented by counsel to bypass his lawyer and communicate directly with the court without copying the prosecution.
According to Kehinde, there was no evidence before the court that Sowore had terminated the services of his counsel, Olumide-Fusika, SAN, to justify writing directly to the court.
The prosecution maintained that the proper procedure required the defendant to communicate with the court through his legal representative, particularly while the lawyer remained on record.
Despite his objection to the manner in which the letter was submitted, Kehinde did not oppose an adjournment, conceding that it could be granted in the interest of justice.
The prosecuting counsel also informed the court that the defence had yet to respond to the written address he filed pursuant to an earlier order of the court.
The written address concerns the legal question of whether Kehinde, who is prosecuting the case, can be subpoenaed to testify as a witness for the defence.
The issue remains pending before the court, as the defence has not filed its response to the prosecution’s written submissions.
Following the submissions of counsel, Justice Umar adjourned the matter until November 3, 2026, for the adoption of written addresses and continuation of the defence.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the State Security Service (SSS) over posts he published on X and Facebook in which he described President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of making false claims about the level of corruption in Nigeria.
The prosecution alleges that the social media publications constitute cyberbullying.
The case will resume on November 3, when the court is expected to consider the pending legal submissions and continue proceedings.
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