The ongoing trial of activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, witnessed a dramatic moment on Tuesday as his legal team challenged the Department of State Services (DSS) over its handling of past allegations made against President Bola Tinubu by former presidential aide, Reno Omokri.
Proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja took a sharp turn during the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, a DSS operative identified as Mr Cyril Nosike. Sowore’s counsel, Mr Marshal Abubakar, presented a flash drive containing video recordings of Omokri’s public comments.
One of the clips, played in open court, showed Omokri during a 2023 interview on ARISE News alleging that President Tinubu was a “drug lord” and claiming he possessed documentary evidence to support the assertion. In another video, Omokri was heard stating that he would never work with Tinubu.
Following the playback, Abubakar questioned the DSS witness on why Omokri was cleared by the agency for an ambassadorial appointment despite making such serious allegations against the President. The witness told the court he could not provide an explanation.
Although the prosecution, led by Mr Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), objected to the admissibility of the video evidence, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, overruled the objection and admitted the exhibits.
Sowore is currently facing a two-count amended charge of cybercrime stemming from a social media post made on August 25, 2025, in which he described President Tinubu as a “criminal.” The post followed remarks by the President during a visit to Brazil, where he claimed that his administration had put an end to corruption in Nigeria.
According to the prosecution, the DSS had written to X (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc., demanding that Sowore’s accounts be taken down and the offending post deleted. The agency also reportedly wrote directly to Sowore, asking him to remove the publication.
The charges were filed after both Sowore and the social media platforms allegedly refused to comply. Prosecutors argued that the post was intended to incite public disorder and damage the President’s image and reputation.
Additional exhibits tendered by the prosecution included printed copies of Sowore’s posts on X and Facebook, as well as correspondence between the DSS and the social media companies.
During further cross-examination, Abubakar queried whether the DSS had interviewed President Tinubu or obtained a statement from him concerning the alleged impact of the post. The witness admitted that no such interview was conducted and said he could not confirm whether the President was aware of the publication.
Justice Umar adjourned the case until February 4 for continuation of the trial.
