Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) for the 2027 elections, on Tuesday rescinded his earlier decision to have the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, summoned to testify in his defence in a cyberstalking trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Sowore's lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), announced the withdrawal of the defence's application for the subpoena during proceedings before trial judge Mohammed Umar. The decision came after Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, made a surprise appearance to oppose the subpoena, marking his first involvement in the case.
Attorney-General Challenges Subpoena
Mr Fagbemi, leading a prosecution team that included SAN Akinlolu Kehinde (the prosecutor on record) and Director of Public Prosecutions Rotimi Oyedepo, argued that the subpoena was an abuse of court process. He contended that the letter the defence sought to have Mr Ajayi produce was already admitted in evidence twice, as Exhibits D and DWC, and that the SSS Director-General was being summoned in his official capacity, not personally. “It is not about his person or any allegations against him. So, there are limits,” Mr Fagbemi said, urging the court to discountenance the subpoena and proceed with the defence.
Mr Olumide-Fusika criticised Mr Fagbemi's appearance without prior notice, arguing that if the AGF wished to take over the prosecution, he should have filed a proper notice. “What AGF has done today is to appear and make submissions. We are entitled to be notified that he is taking over the prosecution,” he said. He sought leave to postpone proceedings to reply to an authority cited by the AGF.
Defence Lawyer Concedes After Private Discussion
Before the judge could rule, Mr Fagbemi and Mr Olumide-Fusika conferred privately. After the brief conversation, Mr Fagbemi announced that the defence lawyer had made a U-turn on his application. Mr Olumide-Fusika agreed that another senior SSS official could appear instead to answer questions regarding the 7 September 2025 letter that asked Sowore to retract his alleged criminal defamatory posts about President Bola Tinubu. The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until 3 August, noting that the latest development had overtaken the earlier arguments, making a ruling unnecessary.
Background of the Case
Sowore faces charges of criminal defamation, cyberstalking, and incitement brought by the SSS for calling President Tinubu “a criminal” in social media posts on X and Facebook last year. He has maintained his innocence, standing by his posts. During the previous hearing on 22 July, Mr Olumide-Fusika had informed the court of plans to subpoena Mr Ajayi after SSS official Uwem Davies, who authored the disputed letter, testified that he acted on the DG's directive. The defence had also sought to subpoena presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga. Before Tuesday's proceedings, two defence witnesses had already testified: prominent lawyer Deji Adeyanju, who defended Sowore's remarks as permissible criticism, and Mr Davies.
