A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, September 28, 2026, fixed October 2, 2026, for the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, to continue with his defence in the case of alleged cyber-bullying brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Reports indicated in August that the DSS could upon the resumption of the courts from vacation, seek a long adjournment to enable Sowore concentrate on his presidential campaign.
Sowore had in August 2025, made some posts on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook labelling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal” and also accused him of lying about corruption levels in the country.
After spurning appeals from the DSS to delete the posts, the Agency approached the court to seek interpretation on the legal basis for calling a President “criminal”.
In the course of the case, Sowore and his legal team recorded a string of judicial setbacks. First, the court dismissed his fundamental rights suit and ordered him to pay a ₦1.5 million penalty.
Similarly, when Sowore made a no case submission, the court rejected it, and directed him to enter his defence, just as when he alleged bias against the trial judge, the Chief Judge dismissed Sowore’s petition, and asked the trial judge to go ahead with the trial.
At the resumed hearing on Monday day, Sowore’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), told the court that he read reports in the media that the DSS would be applying for a long adjournment to enable his client focus on his presidential campaign.
However, in his response, counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, expressed surprise that Fusika would rely on social media reports on such a serious matter before the court.
Kehinde said that instructions from his clients are confidential and, therefore, couldn’t’ have relied on social media reports, as submitted by Sowore’s counsel.
Accordingly, counsel to DSS told the court that he was ready for the continuation of the case, a move that seemed to have caught Fusika off guard.
At this point, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, adjourned to the case to October 2, 2026, for continuation of defence.
