A Federal High Court in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, has admitted video evidence featuring comments made by a former presidential aide about President Bola Tinubu in the ongoing cyberstalking trial of activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.
The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, ruled on Tuesday that the video clips met the legal requirements for electronically generated evidence under Nigeria’s Evidence Act.
The case centres on charges brought by the federal government against Mr Sowore, who is accused of cyberstalking over social media posts made in August 2025. Prosecutors allege that the posts, which criticised President Tinubu, were false and capable of causing public disorder. Mr Sowore has pleaded not guilty.
The video evidence was presented by Mr Sowore’s lawyer during the cross-examination of a witness from Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency, the Department of State Services (DSS).
The clips include past media interviews in which Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide and ambassadorial nominee, made allegations against President Tinubu. The court heard that the defence sought to rely on the videos to question why similar public statements had not resulted in legal action against Mr Omokri.
The prosecution objected to the admission of the videos, arguing that the legal requirements had not been fully met. However, the judge dismissed the objection and admitted both the video files and a certificate of compliance as evidence.
During cross-examination, the DSS witness confirmed that investigators had not interviewed President Tinubu directly or obtained a statement from him regarding the alleged impact of Mr Sowore’s posts. He also said he could not confirm whether the president was personally aware of the posts.
The defence also presented earlier court orders directing the DSS to return mobile phones previously seized from Mr Sowore. These documents were admitted despite objections from the prosecution, which said it would address its concerns at the final stage of the trial.
Justice Umar adjourned the case until 4 February for the continuation of proceedings.
