Federal High Court Abuja, on Monday heard that a member of the legal team of African Action Congress, AAC Presidential candidate and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, was unfamiliar with Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act while seeking to tender printouts of online media reports.
The trial court fixed Tuesday to rule on the prosecution’s objection to a defence request to subpoena the Department of State Services, DSS lead counsel as a witness in the cybercrime trial of Omoyele Sowore.
During proceedings, the lawyer, Adefisoye, made the admission during cross-examination by the DSS lead prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, who challenged the admissibility of the documents.
The defence had asked the court to admit reports suggesting that the DSS was considering suspending Sowore’s trial until after the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
Kehinde objected to the request and questioned Adefisoye on whether she knew the provisions of Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act.
At the prosecution counsel’s request, Adefisoye read the relevant provision to the court, which concerns restrictions on admitting documents made while proceedings are pending.
Sowore recently began presenting his defence in the case instituted by the DSS over an alleged cyberbullying offence.
The charge stems from a social media post made in August 2025 in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
In a separate development, the prosecution urged the court to reject the defence’s attempt to compel its lead counsel to testify as a defence witness through a subpoena.
Kehinde described the move as being made in bad faith, diversionary and inconsistent with the law and established judicial practice.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Muhammad Umar adjourned the matter until Tuesday for a ruling on the prosecution’s objection to the subpoena.
(Follow AIT News on WhatsApp, AfricaIndependentTV on YouTube, ait_online on Facebook and X (Formerly Twitter), and officialait on TikTok, Instagram and Threads)
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
