Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, made an unexpected appearance at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday as part of the prosecution team in the ongoing trial of Sahara Reporters publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
Sowore is facing charges of criminal defamation, cyberstalking, and incitement over social media posts he made last year concerning President Bola Tinubu. The case was instituted by the Department of State Services (DSS) and is being heard by Justice Mohammed Umar.
Fagbemi, appearing in the matter for the first time, led the prosecution team alongside the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, lead prosecutor Akinlolu Kehinde, and other government lawyers.
During the proceedings, the Attorney-General urged the court to reject Sowore’s request to subpoena the Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Ajayi, as a defence witness. He argued that the security agency had already cooperated by allowing one of its officials to testify and insisted that the application to summon the DSS chief was intended to delay the trial.
Sowore had earlier informed the court of his intention to call both the DSS Director-General and presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga as defence witnesses after a DSS official, Uwem Davies, testified in the case.
Davies, who identified himself as the Principal Officer of General Services at the DSS, confirmed that he authored a letter directing Sowore to remove social media posts concerning President Tinubu. He explained that the letter was written on the instruction of the DSS Director-General because the posts were considered capable of creating tension.
The witness also told the court that he did not communicate directly with Sowore before issuing the letter and acted strictly on official instructions.
When questioned about another letter addressed to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Davies said although the document carried his name, he did not write it. He explained that it was prepared by his colleague, B. Bamigboye, who has since retired from the service.
During cross-examination, Davies maintained that he could not confirm whether those allegedly offended by Sowore’s posts were supporters of President Tinubu. He reiterated that his role was limited to carrying out directives from his superiors.
Following the witness’s testimony, Sowore’s lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, told the court he intended to subpoena the DSS Director-General because the witness could not adequately respond to several questions raised by the defence.
The defence also disclosed plans to summon presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga but informed the court that efforts to serve him with a subpoena had not yet been successful.
The prosecution later sought to tender additional documents into evidence, but the defence objected, and the court upheld the objection.
Olumide-Fusika subsequently requested an adjournment to enable the defence prepare its application for the issuance of subpoenas for the DSS Director-General and Bayo Onanuga. He also informed the court that the defence plans to call about 20 witnesses during the trial.
