The Federal High Court in Abuja has refused an application by Omoyele Sowore to tender an uncertified copy of a court document in his defence against charges of alleged criminal defamation.
Justice Mohammed Umar held that the document, being a photocopy kept by a lawyer, could not be admitted without certification, stressing that certification was necessary to assure the court that it had not been altered.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the State Security Services (SSS) over alleged criminal defamation arising from claims that he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in posts made on his official X and Facebook accounts.
During the proceedings, a former member of Sowore’s legal team, Wayne Chikezie Elijah, testified that he had received the document on the defendant’s behalf while serving as counsel.
However, the prosecution lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, successfully argued that only the original or a certified true copy of the court document was admissible, prompting the court to reject the exhibit.
Under cross-examination by Kehinde, Elijah confirmed that he was present in the courtroom while the second defence witness (DW2) testified earlier in the proceedings on Wednesday.
Another defence witness, SSS official Uwem Davies, confirmed that he wrote a January 22 letter directing Sowore to remove the disputed social media posts, acting on the instruction of the DSS Director-General.
He denied authoring a separate September 7, 2025, letter addressed to Meta, saying it was written by a retired colleague, B. Bamigboye.
Davies maintained that all his actions were carried out in his official capacity and that he had no personal involvement in the matter.
Following the testimony, Sowore’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, indicated plans to subpoena the SSS Director-General, arguing that the witness could not adequately answer questions relating to the directive.
He also informed the court that efforts to serve a subpoena on the presidential spokesman had so far been unsuccessful.
The trial judge, Justice Umar, adjourned the case to July 28 for the continuation of the defence.
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(Editor: Ada Ononye)
