Court fixes October 2 for continuation of Sowore’s defence

The Federal High Court has adjourned until October 2 for the continuation of the defence of the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, in the alleged cybercrime case instituted against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Sowore is being prosecuted over social media posts he published in August 2025 on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook, in which he allegedly described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of misrepresenting the level of corruption in the country.

At Monday’s proceedings, defence counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, told the court that the defence was expecting the appearance of a witness subpoenaed from the DSS but that it might be unable to proceed without the witness.

Olumide-Fusika said that at the previous sitting, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had reached an understanding with the defence that another DSS officer would appear on behalf of the agency’s Director-General, who had originally been subpoenaed.

He, however, told the court that no DSS official appeared to represent the Director-General.

The defence counsel said the absence of the subpoenaed witness left the defence with no option but to seek an adjournment.

He added that, because the witness had been subpoenaed and was not in court, the defence could apply for an order compelling his attendance.

Olumide-Fusika also tendered newspaper publications reporting that the DSS had allegedly indicated that it would instruct its counsel to seek a suspension of proceedings until after the next general elections.

He said the defence had expected the prosecution to seek an extended adjournment when the court resumed on Monday, based on the reports.

When asked by Justice Mohammed Umar why no DSS official was present in court in view of the understanding earlier reached with the Attorney-General of the Federation, prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, said it was not the prosecution’s responsibility to produce a witness for the defence.

Kehinde argued that the responsibility for ensuring the attendance of the defence witness rested with the defence.

He also challenged the defence’s reliance on newspaper and social media publications in the proceedings, saying he was not aware of the reported developments and urging the court to discountenance the publications.

The prosecution further urged the court to direct Sowore to proceed with his defence, warning that it would otherwise apply for the defence to be foreclosed.

Sowore had earlier made a no-case submission at the conclusion of the prosecution’s case, but the court rejected the application and ordered him to enter his defence.

The defendant had also unsuccessfully sought the recusal of the trial judge after alleging bias.

His application was rejected by the Chief Judge of the court.

In a ruling on Monday, Justice Umar said that, in view of the absence of the subpoenaed witness, the defence would be given another opportunity to produce its witness.

The judge subsequently adjourned the case until October 2 for the continuation of the defence.

The allegations against Sowore remain subject to determination by the court.

The case against Omoyele Sowore arose from social media publications he made in August 2025 concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.