A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an attempt by Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), 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 shared on his X and Facebook accounts.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Sowore’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), sought to present the document through the third defence witness, Wayne Elijah, who said he received it while serving as a member of Sowore’s former legal team.
Elijah told the court that he accepted service of the document from the prosecution during his time as one of the defendant’s lawyers.
However, prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), objected to its admission, arguing that as a court record, the document could only be tendered as the original or a Certified True Copy (CTC).
Justice Mohammed Umar upheld the objection, ruling that the photocopy was inadmissible because it had not been certified.
According to the judge, certification is necessary to ensure that court documents have not been altered while in private custody. The document was consequently rejected.
Earlier in the proceedings, Uwem Davies, a principal officer in the DSS General Services Department, testified under subpoena that he authored a letter directing Sowore to remove the social media posts on the instruction of the DSS Director-General.
Davies said the January 22 letter was the only correspondence he personally wrote requesting Sowore to retract the posts because they were allegedly creating tension in the country.
When presented with another letter dated September 7, 2025, addressed to Meta, Davies admitted that although the document bore his name, it was actually written by his former colleague, B. Bamigboye, who has since retired from the DSS.
He also confirmed that he did not personally interact with Sowore before issuing the January 22 letter, explaining that he acted solely on the directive of the DSS Director-General.
Following the witness’s testimony, Sowore’s counsel indicated that he may subpoena the DSS Director-General, arguing that Davies was unable to answer some key questions raised during the hearing.
The defence also disclosed that it had requested a subpoena for the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, but court bailiffs had not yet been able to serve him.
Justice Umar adjourned the case until July 28 for the continuation of the defence.
