Online publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has withdrawn his request to subpoena the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adeola Ajayi, as a witness in his ongoing trial over the alleged criminal defamation of President Bola Tinubu on social media.
Sowore informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that the evidence he initially sought from the DSS chief could instead be obtained from another official of the agency.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), personally appeared to lead the Federal Government’s prosecution for the first time since the trial commenced.
Fagbemi opposed the subpoena issued to the DSS Director-General, arguing that the document Ajayi was expected to testify about was not authored by him but by another DSS official who had already given evidence in the case.
The AGF also maintained that the DSS letter advising Sowore to remove social media posts in which he described President Tinubu as a “criminal” had already been admitted as evidence twice, making any further attempt to tender the document unnecessary.
He further told the court that the author of the letter, Uwen Davis, had testified on July 22 as a defence witness and that the document was already before the court.
Sowore’s lawyer, Olumide Fusika (SAN), challenged the Attorney-General’s appearance in the case, arguing that Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) remained the Federal Government’s counsel on record.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Justice Muhammed Umar adjourned the case until August 3 for the continuation of the defence.
