The Federal High Court in Abuja has released the passport of activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, after striking out a cybercrime charge filed by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over his social media posts concerning the former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
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Trial judge Musa Liman held that the prosecution had failed to diligently pursue the case since the defendant’s arraignment in January 2025.
During proceedings last week, the prosecution sought an adjournment to replace its lawyer, but the defence opposed the request and urged the court to dismiss the case.
Mr Liman upheld the objection and struck out the charge for lack of diligent prosecution. The police later applied to relist the case but withdrew the motion in open court.
Following the withdrawal of the relisting application on Tuesday, the court struck out the motion laying the criminal trial to rest, which resulted in the release of Mr Sowore’s passport. The passport was released to Mr Sowore through his lawyers.
The passport was seized from him as part of his bail conditions following his arraignment last year.
Reacting in a Facebook post on Tuesday, Mr Sowore described Tuesday’s proceedings as troubling, recounting how the police made frantic efforts to relist a case that had already been struck out by the court.
He said he returned to court following the earlier ruling of Mr Liman.
“Today was a revealing and deeply troubling day. I returned to court following Justice Musa Liman’s decision, which had earlier struck out the cybercrime case brought against me…,” he wrote.
Mr Sowore alleged that officials of the Nigeria Police Force, including Assistant Commissioner of Police Bukola Kuti and Assistant Inspector General Emmanuel Ade Aina, Director of Legal Services, filed an ex parte motion seeking to relist the case for a fresh trial.
He described the move as an attempt to reopen proceedings that had already been terminated.
The activist also claimed that delays occurred in the release of his passport and certified copies of the court ruling, despite applications by his legal team led by Marshal Abubakar.
As part of earlier bail conditions, the court had ordered Sowore to provide an Abuja-based surety, submit an affidavit of means, deposit property documents, and surrender his international passport pending the determination of the case.
The charge arose from social media posts in which Sowore allegedly described Mr Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP” and criticised the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force.
The police charges alleged that Sowore called Mr Egbetokun “The illegal IG of the Nigeria Police Force” via his official X page, including captioning the IGP’s picture: “Mediocrity, incompetence, corruption, a country run by characterless people cannot make progress.”
The Nigerian police charged Mr Sowore with 17 counts of cybercrime offences for referring to the IGP, Mr Egbetokun, as “illegal IGP” in a post on his social media platforms.
Mr Sowore denied the allegations, describing the case as politically motivated and an attempt to criminalise free expression.
Mr Egbetokun, who was expected to have exited service having attained the statutory retirement age of 60 years in September 2024, secured an extended stay in office following a controversial alteration to the Nigeria Police Act passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu.
The alteration allowed Mr Egbetokun to stay in office for up to four years as Nigeria’s police chief. However, Mr Egbetokun was forced to resign last month.
The police alleged in the indictment filed on 28 January 2025 that Mr Sowore knew that the description of Mr Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP” was false, but knowingly made the claim to cause a “breakdown of law and order.’’
They alleged that the act constituted an offence contrary to section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 as amended (2024) and punishable under section 24(2)(c) (ii) of the same Act.
Mr Sowore, who was detained after honouring a police invitation on Monday, described the charges as ridiculous.
His invitation by the police was prompted by a video clip he uploaded on social media alleging extortion by officers at a checkpoint in Lagos.
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