—- Says prosecution was ready to proceed with trial and had a witness present in court.

The Federal Government has amended the cybercrime charges against activist and RevolutionNow convener, Omoyele Sowore, re-arraigning him on a two-count charge bordering on alleged cyberstalking of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Sowore is accused of referring to the President as a “criminal” in posts shared on social media platforms. The amended charge was presented on Monday at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

At the resumed hearing, counsel to the Federal Government, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, informed the court that the amended charge removed social media platforms X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook as co-defendants, leaving Sowore as the sole defendant in the case.

However, Sowore’s counsel, Abubakar Marshal, opposed the commencement of trial, arguing that the prosecution failed to attach the list of witnesses and their sworn statements to the amended charge.

Marshal cited Section 36(6) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates that defendants be furnished in advance with details of prosecution witnesses and their depositions to ensure a fair trial.

After listening to submissions from both parties, Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that all necessary documents and court processes must be properly regularised before trial could proceed.

The court subsequently adjourned the matter to January 22 for trial.