Court remands and later grants bail to Omoyele Sowore in Tinubu defamation case

War of words by two Senior Advocates of Nigeria SAN, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika and Akinlolu Kehinde on Monday stalled the continuation of trial of the Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress AAC, Omoyele Sowore in the defamation charges brought against him by the Department of the State Service DSS. At the Monday’s proceedings, heated argument […] Sowore’s alleged defamation trial halted as lawyers trade words in open court

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has withdrawn his plan to call the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, as a witness in his ongoing criminal defamation trial involving President Bola Tinubu.Sowore, through his legal team, informed the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday that the evidence he intended to elicit from the DSS chief could be obtained from other officials of the agency.     The development came after Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who led the prosecution for the Federal Government, objected to the subpoena issued on Ajayi. Fagbemi argued that the key document in question, a letter directing Sowore to remove a social media post labeling President Tinubu as a “criminal” was not authored by the DSS boss.   The AGF noted that the letter had already been tendered and admitted as an exhibit twice in the same proceedings. He added that its author, Mr. Uwen Davis, had testified for the defence on July 22, 2026, making further testimony on the document unnecessary.    Sowore’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika, SAN, had earlier objected to Fagbemi’s appearance in the matter, stating that Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, remained the counsel on record for the Federal Government.   Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the matter to Monday, August 3, 2026, for the continuation of the defence.    The case stems from Sowore’s social media posts about President Tinubu, which the DSS alleges amount to defamation and cyberbullying. The trial has drawn significant public attention due to its political undertones and the involvement of high-level security officials.    

Presidential candidate of the of the African Alliance Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has dropped his plan to feature the Director General of the Department of the State Service, DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi as his witness in his trial over alleged defamation of President Bola Tinubu. Sowore on Tuesday admitted that the evidence in respect of which he had […] Sowore drops DSS boss, Tosin Ajayi as witness in Tinubu defamation trial

Justice Mohammed Garuba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the bid by presidential candidate of the of the African Alliance Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, to tender uncertified documents in his trial for allegedly making defamatory statements against President Bola Tinubu.   The judge on Wednesday refused the bid when Sowore’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika, SAN, applied to tender some uncertified documents through another lawyer, Barrister Wayne Chikezie Elijah.   The documents are summary of proceedings in testimony of a witness codenamed XYZ, along with other vital letters.   Midway into Wednesday’s proceedings, Fusika had called Elijah as his third witness in the defense of the activist for the purpose of tendering the vital documents.   Trouble had started when the registrar of the court announced that those to testify in the matter for the defense should leave the courtroom and go out of hearing, an announcement the lawyer failed to honour.   When he was called into the witness box as second witness for the day, DSS lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, asked him to confirm his presence in court when the first witness of the day, Uwen Davis, was testifying.   Sensing the implications of his being in the courtroom, against the registrar’s directive, the legal practitioner informed Justice Mohammed Garuba Umar that he was inside and outside the courtroom when the first witness was giving evidence.   The DSS counsel proceeded to object to the tendering of the documents on the ground that they were public documents and ought to be certified before they can be admitted as exhibits.   Kehinde urged the judge to reject admitting the documents and mark them as rejected on the ground that the bid offended the Evidence Act.   Sowore’s counsel, Fusika, however countered the DSS lawyer, arguing that the documents came from court records and need not be certified.   Ruling on application, Justice Umar held that the documents are coming from the custody of a counsel who claimed to be a counsel in the matter before.   He said, “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?”   Justice Umar subsequently rejected the documents and marked them as rejected.   “The document is rejected and marked as such,” the judge ruled.   Earlier, Uwen Davis, a Principal Officer, General Services in the DSS, had testified that he authored a letter dated September 7, 2025 and delivered to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of X Corporation, asking him to delete the post where Sowore allegedly called President Bola Tinubu a criminal.   He admitted that the letter stated that Tinubu’s supporters are becoming furious and that the offending post could lead to breakdown of law and order.   Answering a question, the witness said he cannot name Tinubu’s supporters that were becoming furious, adding that he authored the letter based on a directive to do so by his superior officer.   Meanwhile, the continuation of the defense has been adjourned to July 28.   It will be recalled that Justice Umar had, during proceedings on July 16, 2026, issued a final warning to Sowore to resume his defence in the trial.   The judge issued the warning following the absence of Sowore’s lead counsel during the proceedings.

Justice Mohammed Garuba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the bid by presidential candidate of the of the African Alliance Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, to tender uncertified documents in his trial for allegedly making defamatory statements against President Bola Tinubu. The judge on Wednesday refused the bid when Sowore’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika, […] Tinubu defamation trial: Court rejects Sowore’s bid to tender uncertified documents

…. as trial continues July 28 By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA — Trial of the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, continued on Wednesday with the Federal High Court in Abuja rejecting a document he sought to tender in defence of the cybercrime charges the Department of State Services (DSS) filed against […] The post Anti-Tinubu Post: Court rejects Sowore’s uncertified exhibits appeared first on Vanguard News.