- Court Rejects Sowore’s Attempt to Tender Uncertified Documents in Tinubu Defamation Trial
- DSS witness says Sowore’s alleged post could trigger breakdown of law.
- Justice Umar adjourns further defence hearing in Sowore’s trial to July 28.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an attempt by publisher and African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, to tender uncertified documents in his trial over alleged defamatory statements against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Justice Mohammed Garuba Umar declined the application on Wednesday after Sowore’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika (SAN), sought to tender the documents through another lawyer, Wayne Chikezie Elijah.
The documents included a summary of proceedings relating to the testimony of a witness identified as “XYZ” and other letters.
During the proceedings, Fusika called Elijah as the third defence witness solely for the purpose of tendering the documents.
Before the witness was called, the court registrar had directed all prospective defence witnesses to leave the courtroom and remain outside until they were called to testify.
However, Elijah remained in the courtroom despite the directive.
During cross examination by counsel to the Department of State Services, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), Elijah admitted that he had been both inside and outside the courtroom while the first defence witness, Uwen Davis, was giving evidence.
The DSS objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they were public documents which, under the Evidence Act, must be certified before they could be admitted in evidence.
Kehinde urged the court to reject the documents.
However, Fusika argued that the documents formed part of court records and therefore did not require certification.
In his ruling, Justice Umar held that the documents had remained in the custody of a lawyer who claimed to have previously handled the matter, making certification necessary to establish their authenticity.
“The reason for certification is to be sure the document has not been tampered with. Having been in the custody of the said counsel, how is the court sure that the document has not been tampered with?” the judge asked.
Justice Umar subsequently rejected the documents and ordered that they be marked accordingly.
“The document is rejected and marked as such,” Justice Umar ruled.
DSS Witness Testifies Over Alleged Tinubu Insult
Earlier in the proceedings, a Principal Officer in the General Services Department of the DSS, Uwen Davis, told the court that he authored a letter dated September 7, 2025, addressed to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of X Corporation.
According to Davis, the letter requested the removal of a social media post in which Sowore allegedly referred to President Tinubu as a criminal.
He said the letter warned that the post could trigger a breakdown of law and order because Tinubu’s supporters were becoming agitated.
During cross examination, however, Davis admitted that he could not specifically identify the supporters referred to in the letter.
He also stated that he prepared the correspondence on the instruction of a superior officer.
Following Wednesday’s proceedings, Justice Umar adjourned further hearing in the defence to July 28.
At the previous sitting on July 16, the judge had issued a final warning directing Sowore to open his defence or risk forfeiting the opportunity to do so.
Sowore is standing trial over allegations that he made defamatory statements against President Tinubu.
The AAC presidential candidate has denied the allegations, while the matter remains pending before the court.
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