A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday rejected an attempt by the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, to tender an uncertified court document in his defence against alleged criminal defamation charges.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in posts published on his X and Facebook accounts.
During the proceedings, Sowore’s counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), sought to tender a copy of court documents through the third defence witness, Wayne Elijah, who told the court he had received the documents on Sowore’s behalf while serving on the defendant’s former legal team.
Elijah testified that he accepted service of the documents from the prosecution in his capacity as one of Sowore’s lawyers.
However, counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), objected, arguing that the document, being a court record, could only be admitted if produced in its original form or as a Certified True Copy (CTC).
He contended that the defence was seeking to tender only a photocopy, which is inadmissible in law.
In his ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar upheld the prosecution’s objection and rejected the document.
“The document is coming from the custody of a counsel who claimed to be counsel in this matter. The reason for certification is to be sure the document has 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 held.
Under cross-examination, Elijah admitted that he was present in court while the second defence witness testified earlier in the day. He, however, maintained that he was “in and out of the courtroom” and said the court’s CCTV footage could verify his movements.
Earlier, the second defence witness, Uwem Davies, a principal officer in the DSS General Services Department, testified under subpoena that he wrote a January 22 letter directing Sowore to remove the social media posts on the instruction of the DSS Director-General.
Davies told the court that the letter was the only correspondence he authored requesting Sowore to retract the posts, which the DSS considered capable of generating tension in the country.
When shown another letter dated September 7, 2025, addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of Meta, Davies acknowledged that although the document bore his name, he did not write it.
He explained that the letter was authored by his colleague, B. Bamigboye, who has since retired from the DSS.
Davies also confirmed that he had no personal interaction with Sowore before issuing the January 22 letter, stating that he merely acted on the directive of the DSS Director-General.
Asked whether he or the DSS Director-General were supporters of President Tinubu, Davies said he did not know, insisting that he simply carried out official instructions. He also admitted that he did not consult any of the President’s supporters before writing the letter.
Following the witness’s testimony, Olumide-Fusika informed the court that he might have no option but to subpoena the DSS Director-General, arguing that Davies was unable to answer several questions put to him.
During cross-examination by the prosecution, Davies maintained that every action he took in relation to the matter was carried out strictly in his official capacity.
He confirmed that the subpoena compelling his appearance was served on the DSS before it was assigned to him.
Davies further testified that Bamigboye authored a separate letter to X Corp on behalf of the DSS Director-General in connection with the case and that he had copies of both the letter and the subpoena served on the retired officer.
When Kehinde sought to tender the two documents in evidence, the defence objected, and Justice Umar upheld the objection.
Although Olumide-Fusika told the court that the defence still intended to call about 20 witnesses, he sought an adjournment to enable him prepare an application for the issuance of a subpoena to the DSS Director-General.
The senior advocate also informed the court that he had applied for a subpoena to be issued to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, but court bailiffs had been unable to effect service.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the case until July 28 for the continuation of the defence.
