The trial of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore on alleged cybercrime charges took a dramatic turn on Monday after a heated exchange between his lawyer and the prosecution forced the court to adjourn proceedings.
Justice Mohammed Umar ended the sitting after tempers flared between counsel representing the Department of State Services (DSS) and Sowore’s defence team over an application seeking to close the defence’s case.
The disagreement began after the DSS lawyer, Akinolu Kehinde (SAN), asked the court to foreclose Sowore’s defence, arguing that the defendant was deliberately delaying the trial.
The request followed an application by Sowore’s lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), who sought an adjournment to allow him study court documents released to him shortly before the hearing.
According to the defence lawyer, although he applied for the documents on July 26, they were only made available by the court registrar shortly before proceedings began.
He explained that the documents were important for preparing the cross-examination of the next defence witness, an official of the DSS.
However, the prosecution opposed the request, accusing Sowore of using delay tactics to frustrate the trial.
The allegation sparked a sharp reaction from the defence counsel.
“What sort of talk is that? My calmness should not be taken for granted. Deal with the facts. What exactly are these alleged dilatory tactics?” Olumide-Fusika said.
He also accused the DSS of persecuting his client and reminded the court that Sowore had earlier relaxed a subpoena issued against the Director-General of the DSS following the intervention of the Attorney General of the Federation.
As both senior lawyers continued exchanging arguments in open court, Justice Umar brought the proceedings to an end and adjourned the case until September 28.
Sowore is facing a two-count charge under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, over social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The DSS alleged that the posts were capable of causing public disorder and damaging the President’s reputation.
According to the prosecution, the agency had earlier asked X (formerly Twitter) and Meta to remove the posts and suspend Sowore’s accounts, while also requesting that he delete the content himself.
The security agency filed charges after he allegedly failed to comply with the request.
