Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the charges brought by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun against human rights activist and ex-presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore, through his lawyer Marshall Abubakar, had filed an application to strike out the charges, citing a lack of diligent prosecution. On Tuesday, Justice Liman agreed, ruling that the police had failed to advance the case since Sowore’s arraignment in January 2025.
During proceedings, the prosecution requested an adjournment to allow the lead counsel to appear in court. The defense opposed this request, urging the court to dismiss the case outright. Justice Liman recalled that the police had not commenced prosecution since the initial arraignment and noted the prosecution’s failure to comply with Section 351 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).
Consequently, Justice Liman declared:
“The charge FHC/ABJ/CR/23/2025 is struck out and accordingly dismissed.”
The charges, initially filed on January 28, 2025, accused Sowore of using his verified X (formerly Twitter) account to publish statements against IGP Egbetokun, labeling him “illegal IGP.” The prosecution alleged that these posts were intended to incite unrest and harm the reputation of the police, citing the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
However, the court found that the prolonged inaction by the police rendered the case untenable, resulting in a complete dismissal of all counts.