Alleged Defamation: DSS witness links Sowore’s post on Tinubu to public tension

The trial over the alleged defamation of Bola Tinubu by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore formally opened on Wednesday, January 21, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, with the Department of State Services (DSS) calling its first witness.Testifying before Justice Mohammed Umar, DSS operative Cyril Nosike said a social media post by Sowore in which he referred to President Tinubu as a criminal generated public tension and posed a threat to public safety. Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), Nosike told the court that while on duty at the DSS cyberspace monitoring centre on August 26, 2025, he detected and monitored a post made by the defendant on his X account.According to the witness, Sowore described the President as This criminal @officialABAT, the X handle of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and added: 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 XYZ. When shown the flash drive and a certificate of compliance in court, he identified them as the items he referenced, after which the prosecution applied to tender them in evidence. Defence counsel, Marshall Abubakar, said he would reserve his objection to be raised at the appropriate time, and the court admitted the items.At the prosecutions request, the judge ordered the video to be played in open court. The footage showed President Tinubu speaking on the achievements of his administration and urging Brazilian businesses to invest in Nigeria, stating that the country now offered a conducive business environment with no corruption.The witness further testified that he took screenshots of public reactions to Sowores post and that, based on the responses, the DSS wrote official letters to X and Facebook (Meta), requesting that the post be taken down because it was generating tension. He added that a separate letter was sent to Sowore through his lawyers, demanding a retraction of the statement, and that receipt of the letter was acknowledged.Nosike told the court that despite the confidential nature of the letter, Sowore posted a screenshot of it on Facebook, attracting reactions from Nigerians at home and abroad. He said the reactions were disparaging to the DSS and portrayed the service in a negative light, adding that Sowores posts had complicated the work of security agencies.The prosecution subsequently tendered copies of the letters and screenshots of reactions to Sowores posts, which were admitted in evidence.At the close of the witnesss examination-in-chief, the court invited the defence to begin cross-examination. Abubakar requested time to study the testimony before proceeding. Although counsel for the DSS opposed the request, the judge granted an adjournment but declined to fix a February date.Justice Umar adjourned the matter to January 27 for cross-examination and continuation of hearing.The post Alleged Defamation: DSS witness links Sowores post on Tinubu to public tension appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.