Omoyele Sowore has asked the Federal High Court to postpone his ongoing cyberbullying trial, citing his presidential campaign activities in Ekiti State.
Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), made the request in a personal letter addressed to the court on Thursday.
The matter came up before Justice Mohammed Umar. However, the defendant was absent when the court called the case.
Prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, drew the court’s attention to Sowore’s absence during the proceedings.
In response, defence lawyer T. O. Etonyeaku, who appeared on behalf of Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, informed the judge that Sowore had travelled to Ekiti State for his presidential campaign.
She consequently requested a stand-down to allow another senior member of the defence team, who had been in court earlier, to arrive and handle the proceedings.
Prosecutor Questions Sowore’s Letter to Court
During the hearing, Justice Umar brought a letter personally written by Sowore to the attention of both lawyers.
The judge asked Kehinde whether he knew about the correspondence.
The prosecuting counsel said he had not received a copy of the letter. He also questioned why Sowore, who already had legal representation, chose to communicate directly with the court without copying the prosecution.
Kehinde argued that the defendant should have channelled his request through his lawyer, Olumide-Fusika, since there was no indication that he had ended the legal representation.
The disagreement over the letter further delayed the proceedings.
However, the prosecution eventually agreed to an adjournment in the interest of justice.
DSS Cyberbullying Case Adjourned to November 3
Kehinde also informed the court that the defence had yet to respond to a written address he filed.
The submission followed an earlier court directive on whether the prosecutor could be subpoenaed to testify as a defence witness.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the case until November 3 for the adoption of addresses and continuation of the defence.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over social media posts he published in August 2025 on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook.
The posts allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of making false claims about the level of corruption in Nigeria.
The allegations form the basis of the ongoing cyberbullying case against the AAC presidential candidate.