The Courtroom Drama: Sowore Walks Free—For Now

By: Akinde S. Oluwaseun

They came for him over a tweet. Five counts of criminal defamation, wrapped in the shiny new packaging of the Cybercrimes Act.

Omoyele Sowore stood before Justice Mohammed Umar on Tuesday. The publisher. The ex-presidential candidate. The man who dared call President Tinubu “a criminal” on social media. The DSS had finally gotten their day in court.

It wasn’t their first try. November saw them begging for a bench warrant when Sowore pulled a no-show. Justice Umar wasn’t having it. Not then.

This time, Sowore showed. Flanked by his lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, who immediately started swinging—preliminary objection, he argued. The charge? Incompetent. But the prosecution’s Akinolu Kehinde (SAN) pressed forward. Section 396(3) of the ACJA, he cited. Take the plea first. Questions later.

The judge agreed.

“Not guilty.” All five counts. Sowore’s voice didn’t waver.

Then the real dance began. Abubakar painted his client as the very picture of responsibility. A two-time presidential candidate. Just won a party chairmanship, for crying out loud. Passport already with the court. Let him go on self-recognition.

The DSS scoffed. Forty paragraphs explaining why Sowore couldn’t be trusted. Previous breaches. Risk of reoffending. They wanted him caged.

Meta’s lawyers? X’s legal team? They stayed quiet. No objections.

Justice Umar made his call. Bail. Self-recognition. But listen carefully, he warned Sowore. One more post that “threatens national unity”? You’re back here. No second chances.

January 19, 2026. That’s when the trial actually starts. Tick-tock.