Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore’s defence team informed the Federal High Court in Abuja of the plan to have the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Adeola Ajayi, and presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga summoned to appear as witnesses in his cyberbullying trial.
Mr Sowore’s lead defence lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, said this after a subpoenaed SSS official, Uwem Davies, could not answer some questions from the defence team on Wednesday.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the forthcoming 2027 general elections, is facing prosecution for making false claims against Mr Tinubu, whom he called “a criminal” in his posts on X and Facebook last year.
The SSS filed charges of criminal defamation, cyberstalking and incitement against Mr Sowore over the posts about Mr Tinubu, who is also seeking a second term in office in next year’s presidential election.
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Mr Davies, who appeared as a subpoenaed witness, described himself as the Principal Officer, General Services at the SSS.
He said the court subpoenaed him to testify in the case at Mr Sowore’s request.
He confirmed writing a letter, on the directive of the Director General of the SSS, requesting the defendant to take down his post on his X and Facebook platforms because it was generating tension in the society.
The witness said the letter, dated 22 January was the only letter he wrote asking the defendant to retract what he had posted on his social media handle regarding President Bola Tinubu.
When shown a letter 7 dated September 2025 addressed to the MD, CEO of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, the witness said the letter contained his name, but was not authored by him.
He said one B. Bamigboye, who was also subpoenaed, was his colleague in the same department, but had since retired.
The witness said he did not interface with Sowore before writing the defendant, but acted on the directive of the DG of the SSS, Mr Ajayi.
Fielding further questions during cross-examination on his and Mr Ajayi’s relationship with Mr Tinubu, in view of their claim that Mr Sowore’s post infuriated a number of the president’s supporters, the witness said he could not tell if they were supporters of President Tinubu.
He insisted that as a lawyer employed by the SSS, he was instructed by the DG of the SSS to write Mr Sowore to retract his alleged false post about the president.
On whether he interacted with the supporters of the president before writing the letter, Mr Davies said he did not, but wrote the letter as directed by his employer.
At this point, Mr Olumide-Fusika told the court he would have no option but to subpoena the DG of the SSS because Mr Davies had been unable to answer his questions as desired.
Mr Davies said that all he did in respect of the case was in his official capacity, not personal capacity.
He said the subpoena, which he tendered earlier, was served on the SSS and that the subpoena was passed on to him in his official capacity.
The witness confirmed that he and B. Bamigbose worked in the same department, but that Mr Bamigboye had retired from service and his present location was unknown to his employer.
He said Bamigboye authored the letter to Chairman/CEO X Corp on behalf of the DG of SSS in respect of this case.
He added that Bamigboye authored the letter in his official capacity.
Mr Davies said he had a copy of the letter with him.
Mr Kehinde then applied to tender both documents in evidence, but Mr Olumide-Fusika objected and the judge upheld the objection.
Although Mr Olumide-Fusika told the court that he had 20 witnesses to call, he applied for adjournment to enable him prepare his application for the issuance of a subpoena on the DG of SSS.
Mr Olumide-Fusika said he had also applied that a subpoena be issued on the spokesman for President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga.
The lawyer, however, said that the court’s bailiff told him that he had been unable to serve Mr Onanuga with the subpoena.
Earlier, the court rejected an uncertified document Mr Sowore presented as part of his defence in the trial.
Justice Umar refused the application after Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Mr Olumide-Fusika, applied to tender the document through the third defence witness, Wayne Chikezie Elijah.
Led in evidence by Mr Olumide-Fusika, the defence lawyer, Mr Elijah told the court on Wednesday that he was a member of Mr Sowore’s former legal team.
He said he previously accepted service of some court documents from the prosecution on Mr Sowore’s behalf.
The defence counsel then asked Mr Elijah to produce the document and he brought out a copy.
Mr Olumide-Fusika then applied to tender it in evidence but the prosecuting lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, also a SAN, raised an objection.
Mr Kehinde argued that the document, which the defence sought to tender, was a court document, which could only be admitted as a certified true copy or the original.
READ ALSO: Court threatens to foreclose Sowore’s defence in cyberbullying trial
He argued that what Mr Olumide-Fusika sought to tender was a mere photocopy of the actual document, which, he argued, was inadmissible.
Ruling, Justice Umar overruled Mr Olumide-Fusika’s argument that certifying the document was unnecessary because it purportedly emanated from the prosecution.
The judge noted that the document was produced by a witness who claimed to be a former lawyer on record in the matter.
He said the reason for the need for its certification was to be sure the document had not been tampered with.
“Having been in the custody of the said counsel, how is the court sure that the document has not been tampered with?
“The document is rejected and marked as such,” the judge ruled.
Under cross examination by prosecution lawyer, Mr Kehinde, MR Elijah confirmed that he was in and out of the courtroom while the second defence witness was testifying during Wednesday’s proceedings.
“My lord, I was in and out of the courtroom. The CCTV of the court can confirm that I was indeed in an out of the courtroom,”
Justice Umar adjourned the matter until 28 July for the continuation of defence.
(NAN)
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