By Ayomide Otitoju
The trial over the alleged defamation of President Bola Tinubu by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore commenced on Wednesday, with the Department of State Services (DSS) presenting its first prosecution witness.
Testifying before the court, Cyril Nosike, a DSS official, said a post allegedly made by Sowore on social media falsely described President Tinubu as a criminal, a claim he said generated tension and posed a threat to public safety.
Led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), Nosike told the court that on August 26, 2025, while on duty at the DSS cyberspace monitoring centre, he detected and monitored a post on Sowore’s X (formerly Twitter) account.
According to the witness, the post referred to the President as “This criminal @officialABAT,” the verified X handle of President Tinubu and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He said Sowore further wrote: “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly!”
Nosike said he downloaded the video attached to the post, saved it on a flash drive, and marked it as Exhibit XYZ. When shown the flash drive and a certificate of compliance, he identified them, after which the prosecution applied to tender the items in evidence.
Defence counsel, Marshall Abubakar, said he would reserve his objection to the admissibility of the exhibits. Justice Mohammed Umar subsequently admitted the flash drive and the certificate of compliance in evidence.
At the request of the prosecution, the court ordered that the video be played in open court. The footage showed President Tinubu speaking on the achievements of his administration and urging Brazilian investors to do business in Nigeria, stating that the country now offered a conducive business environment free of corruption.
The witness further testified that he took screenshots of public reactions to Sowore’s post and that, based on the responses, the DSS wrote to X and Facebook (Meta), requesting the removal of the post on the grounds that it was generating tension.
Nosike also told the court that the DSS sent a letter to Sowore through his lawyers, demanding a retraction of the alleged inciting post, and that the letter was acknowledged. He added that despite the confidential nature of the correspondence, Sowore posted a screenshot of the letter on Facebook.
According to the witness, the publication of the letter attracted reactions from Nigerians at home and abroad, many of which he said were disparaging to the DSS and portrayed the agency in a negative light.
The prosecution subsequently tendered copies of the letters sent to the social media platforms, the letter to the defendant, and screenshots of reactions to Sowore’s posts, all of which were admitted in evidence.
Nosike told the court that the posts allegedly made by Sowore complicated the work of security agencies, including the DSS.
At the conclusion of his evidence-in-chief, the court invited the defence to cross-examine the witness. Abubakar, however, requested time to study the testimony before proceeding.
Although counsel to the DSS opposed the adjournment, the court granted it but declined the defence’s request for a February date.
Justice Umar adjourned the matter to January 27 for cross-examination of the witness and continuation of hearing.
