A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday struck out the cyberstalking case instituted against human rights activist Omoyele Sowore.
This marked a significant legal victory in a case widely criticised as politically motivated.
The suit, filed under Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act, was initiated by the former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, following Sowore’s reference to him as an “illegal IGP”.
The court’s decision followed an application by Sowore’s legal team, which urged the court to strike out the charges on the grounds that they were frivolous, lacked merit, and constituted an abuse of legal process.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that proceedings were stood down for ruling after Sowore’s lawyers challenged the legitimacy of the trial, arguing that the case was weaponised to harass and restrict the activist’s fundamental rights.
In earlier remarks before the ruling, Sowore had described the prosecution as part of a broader pattern of state repression, alleging that the case was used to seize his passport in January 2025 and limit his movements.
The activist described the prosecution as politically motivated, insisting that repeated legal actions against him had historically backfired on those behind them.
“I have seen so many of these unjust cases brought against me, and people go down. It’s not that I’m bragging,” he said, citing former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Chief of Staff Abba Kyari, and former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami as individuals he claimed had “gone down” after participating in what he described as persecution.
Sowore further alleged that Egbetokun’s removal from office was a consequence of the same case, dismissing claims that divine intervention influenced President Bola Tinubu’s decision.
“That’s why he’s going around shouting that it is God that told Tinubu to fire him. God did not speak with Tinubu. God spoke to me,” Sowore said.
Sowore declared that his “next assignment” is to “liberate” Nigeria from what he described as entrenched political actors, including Tinubu, Malami, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
He accused the Nigerian state of systemic failures, alleging that citizens have been denied access to education, healthcare, and electricity, while also condemning what he described as degrading treatment of legal practitioners in court.
Sowore also narrated alleged irregularities his legal team faced at the court on Monday. He lamented that a judge at the Federal High Court ordered his lead counsel to kneel during proceedings for challenging a witness presented by the Department of State Services (DSS).
“They asked our lead lawyer yesterday to kneel down before a judge… because the lawyer was defending me and challenging the DSS’s fake witness,” he said.
He further criticised the prosecution’s handling of the case, questioning why police prosecutors appeared in court without witnesses.
“The police sent three lawyers today… how can you send three lawyers and you can’t find your witness?” he queried.
Sowore added that his legal team had filed an application before Justice Liman to strike out the case, expressing confidence that the court proceedings expose weaknesses in the prosecution.
“We don’t come to court because we think we can get justice; we come to offload justice onto the courts,” he said.
The now-dismissed case had drawn national attention, with civil society organisations and rights advocates warning that the use of cybercrime laws against critics poses a threat to freedom of expression in Nigeria.
In January 2025, then-Inspector-General of Police Egbetokun filed criminal charges against activist Sowore, accusing him of defamation and incitement after Sowore publicly described him as an “illegal IGP.”
As of the time of filing this report, it remains unclear whether the police authorities will file fresh charges or appeal the ruling.
However, the judgment is expected to have wider implications for similar cases involving alleged cyberstalking and free speech in Nigeria.
