The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a no-case submission by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore in a cyberbullying case brought against him by the Department of State Services DSS over alleged defamatory comments about President Bola Tinubu.

In a ruling, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case sufficient to require Sowore to enter his defence. The DSS had arraigned Sowore on a two-count charge bordering on alleged cyberbullying, accusing him of describing Tinubu as a “criminal” on his X social media account.

Sowore, through his legal team, had urged the court to discharge and acquit him, arguing that the prosecution failed to link him to any offence under the Cybercrimes Act. His no-case submission contended that the evidence led by the DSS was speculative and did not meet the threshold required to put him on trial.

Justice Umar disagreed, ruling that the prosecution had sufficiently connected Sowore to the alleged posts and that the evidence, if left unchallenged, could sustain a conviction. The judge concluded that the activist must now explain his role and respond to the allegations.

The decision immediately triggered a tense scene in the courtroom. Sowore openly accused the judge of bias, declaring that he did not believe he would receive justice in the matter. He urged Justice Umar to withdraw from the case and return the file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.

His lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, reinforced the complaint, alleging that the court had consistently favoured the prosecution in its handling of the proceedings. Abubakar formally requested that the matter be reassigned, insisting that his client had lost confidence in the court’s impartiality.

Counsel for the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde SAN, opposed the oral application, arguing that Sowore, having legal representation, ought not to personally address the court in that manner. Kehinde urged the judge to disregard the accusations and proceed with the trial.

In a brief ruling on the controversy, Justice Umar directed Sowore to file a formal application for the judge’s recusal, setting out the specific grounds for the request. The court then adjourned the case to May 19 for Sowore to open his defence and for hearing of the recusal application, setting the stage for a legal battle that now straddles both the substance of the cyberbullying charge and the integrity of the proceedings themselves.