A light-hearted moment occurred at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday during the cyberstalking trial of human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore. Laughter erupted in the courtroom when the Department of State Services (DSS) played a video of President Bola Tinubu’s speech in Brazil on August 26, 2025, in which he claimed he had “fought corruption to a standstill” and that “there was no corruption in Nigeria any longer.”
The video was tendered as evidence by the DSS in its case against Sowore, who allegedly described President Tinubu as “a criminal” on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle and Facebook page. The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, presided over the resumed hearing, where Cyril Nosike, a DSS operative, testified as the prosecution’s first witness, presenting screenshots of the posts.
The courtroom remained serious until the President’s claim was played, at which point lawyers, court officials, and journalists could not contain their laughter, momentarily halting proceedings.
The prosecution also alleged that Sowore was using his mobile phone during court proceedings, a claim he denied. Justice Umar directed Sowore to hand over his phone to his counsel. Additionally, messages from Sowore’s social media accounts were admitted into evidence, though his defense team reserved objections for the stage of final written addresses.
The court adjourned the matter to January 27, 2026, for cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness and continuation of the hearing.
