The trial of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, over alleged cyberbullying was stalled on Thursday following his absence from court and a letter requesting an adjournment.
When the case came up for mention at the Federal High Court in Abuja, prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), drew the court’s attention to Sowore’s absence.
Defence counsel, T. O. Etonyeaku, who appeared on behalf of Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), informed the court that Sowore had travelled to Ekiti State to participate in his presidential campaign activities.
Etonyeaku subsequently requested that the matter be stood down to allow another senior lawyer, who was already within the court premises before proceedings commenced, to arrive and take over the defence.
However, Justice Mohammed Umar drew the attention of both counsel to a letter personally written to the court by Sowore and asked Kehinde whether he had been served with a copy.
In response, Kehinde said he was unaware of the letter, explaining that he had not been copied. He argued that it was inappropriate for a defendant who was already represented by counsel to communicate directly with the court without notifying the prosecution.
The prosecuting counsel further maintained that since there was no indication that Sowore had terminated the services of his lawyer, Olumide-Fusika, the defendant ought not to have written directly to the court.
Despite his reservations, Kehinde did not oppose the request for an adjournment, saying he was willing to accommodate it in the interest of justice.
He also informed the court that the defence had yet to respond to a written address he filed, following the court’s directive, on the question of whether he could be subpoenaed to testify as a defence witness.
After hearing from counsel, Justice Umar adjourned the case until November 3 for the adoption of written addresses and continuation of the defence.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over social media posts he allegedly published on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook in August 2025. In the posts, Sowore reportedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of lying about the level of corruption in the country.
