A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected two sets of documents tendered by politician and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, in his ongoing cyberstalking trial involving alleged false claims against President Bola Tinubu.
The court also ordered a security investigation into a leaked video of a previous court session, which it described as a possible act of contempt of court.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly calling President Tinubu a criminal in posts made on his X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts. The DSS maintains that the claims are false and defamatory.
During proceedings, Justice Mohammed Umar declined an application by Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, to tender documents which included media reports on alleged SSS dismissals, corruption charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former governors, and claims of fraud involving EFCC officials.
The judge agreed with the prosecution that the documents could not be tendered through the first prosecution witness, who had earlier told the court that he had no knowledge of the materials.
In a second ruling, the court also rejected another set of documents allegedly showing that President Tinubu, in 2011, made disparaging remarks against former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, citing the same reason.
Justice Umar further expressed concern after the prosecution informed the court that a member of the defence team had allegedly live-streamed court proceedings.
Although Sowore’s counsel denied responsibility and suggested the leak could have come from anyone, the judge said the allegation was serious and ordered a security investigation to identify the source of the video.
During cross-examination, a DSS official, Cyril Nosike, testified that President Tinubu’s official X account at the time of the alleged post was @officialABAT, contradicting the defence’s claim.
Nosike said he was unaware of several corruption and misconduct allegations raised by the defence, explaining that he was not a politician and could only testify to facts within his knowledge as a security officer.
He also denied knowledge of claims that President Tinubu had in the past made derogatory comments about former leaders, saying he would be surprised if such documents existed.
After nearly two days of cross-examination, Justice Umar asked defence counsel when he intended to conclude.
Abubakar requested an additional day, citing the need to ask more questions and tender more documents, a submission the prosecution opposed urging the court to rule on the adjournment, as the defence had already exceeded the time earlier granted.
After listening to the lawyers, Justice Umar adjourned to march 5 for trial to continue.
(Editor: Ada Ononye)
