The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, has thrown out the cyberbullying lawsuit against publisher and politician Omoyele Sowore. The police had charged Mr Sowore with cyberbullying former IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
On Tuesday, the court dismissed the case and released Mr Sowore’s passport after striking out the cybercrime charges levelled against the Sahara Reporters’ publisher over some of his social media posts that were critical of the erstwhile IGP.
The charges were based on Mr Sowore’s comments describing Mr Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP” over his elongated tenure in office beyond retirement age.
Justice Musa Liman, on Tuesday, held that the prosecution failed to diligently pursue the case since the defendant’s arraignment in January.
Last week, the prosecution team sought an adjournment to replace its lead counsel, but the defence team opposed the request and urged the court to dismiss the case.
Mr Liman upheld the objection and struck out the charge on Tuesday for lack of diligent prosecution.
During proceedings on Tuesday, the police prosecutor applied to re-list the case but ended up withdrawing the motion in open court after a counter-argument by Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Abubakar Marshall.
Following the withdrawal of the re-listing application, the court struck out the motion. Mr Sowore’s passport, which was seized from him as part of his bail conditions following his arraignment in 2025, was released to his lawyers.
