By Danjuma Lamido
Today, 14th August 2025, Omoyele Sowore stands before the Federal High Court in Abuja to answer to charges the Nigeria Police have filed against him, charges of alleged cybercrime and forgery.
As expected, the matter has attracted intense public attention, with passionate voices on both sides already passing verdicts before the judge’s gavel even touches wood.
But the truth is simple: in a constitutional democracy, the only place where the merit or baselessness of such allegations can be determined is in a court of law, not on the streets of social media or the pages of partisan commentary.
For years, Sowore has positioned himself as a crusader for justice, transparency, and accountability, a man who demands that leaders be held to the same legal and moral standards as the rest of us.
If he genuinely believes in the rule of law, then he must also accept that the same legal system has the authority to question him when allegations arise. Selective acceptance of justice, applauding it when it favours you, but dismissing it as persecution when it doesn’t, weakens the very principles you claim to defend.
The police, for their part, have a duty to investigate and prosecute offences without fear or favour. If they have evidence they believe substantiates their claims of cybercrime and forgery, the right course is to present it before the court, and allow the judiciary to perform its constitutional role.
Conversely, if the evidence crumbles under legal scrutiny, then Sowore will emerge vindicated, and the police will have to answer for bringing a flawed case to court.
Nigerians must resist the temptation to pre-empt the outcome.
We have seen too many cases where public sentiment, often driven by incomplete facts, tried to substitute for due process. Justice cannot be built on hashtags, nor can it thrive on selective outrage.
It requires patience, fairness, and an unshakable commitment to the principle that every accused person is innocent until proven guilty.
Sowore himself has never shied away from challenging others to stand before the law. Now that he is in the dock, the fair and principled thing is to let the same process run its full course.
If the charges are unfounded, the court will say so. If they are not, the consequences must follow, not because of who Sowore is, but because the law applies equally to all.
As the case has been adjourned until August 27th, 2025 to allow the Nigeria Police Force to serve court summons on Sowore’s co-accused, let us therefore keep the focus where it belongs: in the courtroom, before an impartial judge, guided by evidence, not emotion. In the end, that is the only arena where truth, not noise, will prevail.
Danjuma Lamido is the Publicity Director of Integrity Youth Alliance and writes from Yola, Adamawa State. email: danjumalamido2011@gmail.com. https://web.facebook.com/danjuma.lamido
