Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the no-case submission filed by activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, in the cyberbullying case instituted against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The DSS is prosecuting Sowore over allegations that he cyberbullied President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as a “criminal” on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.

Delivering his ruling on Friday, Justice Umar held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the defendant and sufficiently linked him to the alleged offences contained in the two-count charge.

The court consequently rejected Sowore’s application seeking to be discharged and acquitted without entering a defence, and directed him to open his defence in the matter.

A no-case submission is a legal procedure through which a defendant argues that the prosecution has failed to present sufficient evidence to justify continuing the trial. By dismissing the application, the court ruled that the case should proceed to the defence stage.