Sowore insists on having SSS director general summoned to testify in cyberbullying trial

Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate for 2027, on Friday insisted that the Director General of the State Security Service (SSS), Tosin Ajayi, must appear to testify for the defence in his ongoing cyberbullying trial.

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Mr Sowore, who faces prosecution by the SSS for his social media posts last year calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal, argued that Mr Ajayi must testify himself since the original request was subpoenaing him personally to appear in court.

Some months ago, the defence said they wanted Mr Ajayi to appear to present a letter dated 7 September 2025 asking Mr Sowore to retract his alleged defamatory social media posts referring to Mr Tinubu as a criminal.

Defence lawyer Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika said the defence wanted Mr Ajayi to appear because Uwem Davies, the SSS official who earlier appeared as the second defence witness on subpoena, could not adequately address questions raised concerning the letter.

The lawyer noted at the time that Mr Davies, who signed the said letter, repeatedly told the court that he only acted on Mr Ajayi’s directive. The defence lawyer said this implied that Mr Ajayi needed to appear to shed more light on the letter.

But in July, the defence withdrew the application to subpoena Mr Ajayi following an intervention by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, who made a surprise appearance in the case to block the subpoena against the SSS director general.

The defence reignited the request for Mr Ajayi to personally appear, as trial resumed this week after the SSS backpedalled on its decision to have proceedings suspended until after the general elections.

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The SSS announced in August the decision to put prosecution on hold to enable Mr Sowore to participate fully in the electioneering process without distraction by the trial.

But the prosecution lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, also a SAN, who, in August, cited international conventions to justify a pause of proceedings, made a U-turn on the issue when trial resumed on Monday. The judge, on Monday, postponed further proceedings until today, Friday.

During Friday’s proceedings, Mr Kehinde argued that it was wrong for the defence to insist on having Mr Ajayi, the SSS director general subpoenaed, citing a Supreme Court decision in the case in Ishaq v. Soniyi (2002).

He submitted that the Supreme Court held that where a subpoena is directed to a named official, it will be absurd to insist that only the named officer can appear in compliance with the subpoena.

Mr Kehinde recalled that the AGFattended court on 28 July, leading the prosecution’s team, to make the same point that it was wrong for the defence to insist that Mr Ajayi must testify as its witness in person.

He said it was based on that understanding that parties agreed that an official of the SSS should be nominated to stand in for the boss.

The prosecution lawyer told the court that, in fidelity to that understanding, an official of the SSS was designated for that purpose.

He said the said official was present in court and was ready for the business of the day.

He added that the SSS boss had no personal interest in the case and only acted in an official capacity.

He stressed that since the SSS had cases in the various divisions of the Federal High Court, it was practically impossible to expect him to attend all proceedings.

“This case is over a year old. The prosecution closed its case on 16 March 2026,” he said, adding, “The decision as to who should attend court is at the discretion of the court, not that of the defence.”

He argued that an SSS official “is competent to give evidence in place of the DG.”.

Judge Umar adjourned the matter until 6 October for ruling on whether or not the SSS director general can be compelled to appear in person and testify as a defence witness in respect of actions taken by the agency.

Sowore criticises Tinubu administration

Meanwhile, Mr Sowore criticised the Bola Tinubu administration for allegedly using his ongoing cyberbullying trial to frustrate his campaign ahead of the 2027 general election.

Mr Sowore made the allegation on Friday after proceedings in the case at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Sahara Reporters reported.

He explained that the trial was being used to restrict his movement and make it difficult for him to travel across the country to mobilise supporters.

“What they are trying to do is to see if they can stop me from campaigning across Nigeria. They have seen that without throwing money, people have come to accept the revolutionary movement and that Nigeria is ready for the revolution,” he said.

“They have to use it day to day to try to stop me because I will not be able to campaign. That is what it is all about.”

Mr Sowore, however, stated that the proceedings would not stop him from pursuing his political activities.

“But, you know, I can multitask. I can breathe and see and smile at the same time. There is no problem. We are ready for them and they should be ready for us at the same time,” he said.

The AAC candidate also criticised President Tinubu, accusing him of betraying Nigerians and saying his movement would seek to remove him through the electoral process.

“We don’t have any interest in his dying, but we know that he has betrayed this country. He has betrayed his policies, he has betrayed his character, he has betrayed the people of Nigeria. And the only thing that is valuable for us to give him is a befitting retirement,” Mr Sowore said.

He also questioned the prosecution’s handling of the case, particularly its decision to call another witness.

“You said you want to bring another person to testify for you. Why are you running? Tosin Ajayi, why are you running?” he asked.

Sowore plans Lagos march

Mr Sowore stressed that his supporters would hold a “One Million Man March” in Lagos on Saturday as part of his political mobilisation.

“Before Tuesday, we are going to Lagos for our one-million-man march in Lagos. If you are in Lagos and you are hearing us, converge at Yaba on Saturday. We have a one-million-man march in Lagos. They will feel it,” he noted.

He linked the planned demonstration to the economic hardship in the country.

“This revolution, where will it start? Maybe not from the Federal High Court; it will start. Because the suffering in this country is too much. Too much,” he said.

The case

The case arose from social media posts Mr Sowore made on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook in August 2025, in which he referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of misrepresenting the level of corruption in Nigeria.

The SSS subsequently brought the case against him over the posts.

After the prosecution closed its case, Mr Sowore filed a no-case submission. In May, Mr Umar dismissed the submission, holding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring him to enter his defence.

Mr Sowore has denied wrongdoing and maintained his position on the posts.

The defence stage has since been affected by disagreements over witnesses and other procedural issues.

Mr Sowore returned to Nigeria from the United States recently to resume his 2027 presidential campaign. He has said he would combine his court appearances with campaign activities across the country.

(NAN)