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An Abuja High Court has rejected an attempt by Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), to tender an uncertified court document as evidence in his ongoing trial over alleged criminal defamation of President Bola Tinubu.
Justice Mohammed Umar declined the application after Sowore’s counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), sought to tender the document through the third defence witness, Wayne Chikezie Elijah.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over a social media post in which he allegedly referred to President Tinubu as “a criminal.” He faces charges of criminal defamation, cyberstalking and incitement.
The prosecution, led by Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), opposed the admissibility of the document, arguing that it was merely a photocopy of a court record and not a certified true copy or the original.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Umar agreed with the prosecution, holding that the document could not be admitted because it had been in the custody of counsel.
“Having been in the custody of the said counsel, how is the court sure that the document has not been tampered with?” the judge said.
“The document is rejected and marked as such.”
During cross-examination, Elijah admitted he was present in court while the second defence witness testified earlier in the day.
“My lord, I was in and out of the courtroom. The CCTV of the court can confirm that I was indeed in and out of the courtroom,” he said.
Earlier, the second defence witness, DSS official Uwem Davies, testified that he wrote a January 22 letter directing Sowore to remove the social media post on the instruction of the agency’s Director-General.
Davies, who appeared under subpoena, said the letter was the only one he personally authored, requesting that Sowore retract the post because it was allegedly generating tension.
He, however, denied authoring a September 7, 2025 letter addressed to Meta, saying although it bore his name, it was written by his colleague B. Bamigboye, who has since retired.
Davies maintained that he acted solely on the directive of the DSS director-general and did not personally engage with Sowore or supporters of President Tinubu before issuing the letter.
“I did not interface with Sowore before writing the defendant, but acted on the directive of the DG of the DSS,” he told the court.
Following the testimony, Olumide-Fusika said he would seek to subpoena the DSS Director-General because the witness was unable to answer some of his questions.
He also informed the court that he had applied to subpoena presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, although the court bailiff had been unable to serve him.
The judge adjourned the case until July 28, 2026, for the continuation of the defence.
