Cybercrime Case: Court frees Sowore on bail, warns against inciting public on Tinubu

Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday granted bail on self-recognition to activist Omoyele Sowore, with a warning to avoid making statements that could stir the public against President Bola Tinubu.

Sowore was granted bail after he was arraigned by the Department of State Services (DSS) on a five-count charge linked to alleged cybercrime.

According to the charge, he is accused of posting comments on his social media platforms that were considered derogatory towards President Tinubu.

Sowore, who is the convener of the the convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were read to him.

Earlier in the proceedings, his counsel, Marshall Abubakar, had raised a motion challenging the competence of the suit, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction.

The prosecution objected, stating they had only just been served with the processes and needed time to respond.

In a short ruling, Justice Umar held that the objection on jurisdiction was not ready for hearing because the prosecution was served that morning, adding that the defendant needed to give them adequate time to file a counter-affidavit.

He then directed that the charges be read to the defendant.

After Sowore pleaded not guilty, his counsel applied for bail on self-recognition.

The prosecution opposed the application, arguing that Sowore posed a flight risk.

Justice Umar, in ruling on the bail request, granted Sowore bail on self-recognition and adjourned the matter to January 19, 2026, for trial.

After the DSS filed a case against him in September over his social media posts about Tinubu, Sowore responded by filing a counter-suit against the DSS, Meta, and X.

Sowore had said that the lawsuits were filed to challenge what the lawyers described as ‘unconstitutional censorship’ against his accounts maintained with Meta and X.

His lawyer Tope Temokun had said that the lawsuit states categorically that this is about the survival of free speech in Nigeria, adding that “if state agencies can dictate to global platforms who may speak and what may be said, then no Nigerian is safe, their voices will be silenced at the whims of those in power.”

“Censorship of political criticism is alien to democracy. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in Section 39, guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of expression, without interference. No security agency, no matter how powerful, can suspend or delete those rights.”

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