The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2027 general election, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday, lost his bid to compel the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, to personally appear in court as a witness in his trial over alleged cyberbullying of President Bola Tinubu.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed Sowore’s application while delivering his ruling.
Monday’s ruling marked the fourth setback for Sowore since the DSS initiated proceedings against him over his alleged description of President Tinubu as “a criminal.”
The court had earlier dismissed his application alleging that the trial violated his fundamental human rights, as well as his preliminary objection to the case. On the third occasion, the Chief Judge rejected his request for the trial judge to recuse himself from the proceedings.
At the resumed hearing, Justice Umar delivered a ruling on the arguments for and against the subpoena issued to the DSS Director-General at Sowore’s request.
Through his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide Fusika, SAN, Sowore had sought an order compelling the DSS chief to appear in court to testify about the agency’s official activities relating to the cyberbullying case against him.
However, the DSS, represented by Akinlolu Thomas Kehinde, SAN, opposed the application, arguing that another official of the agency could testify on its behalf.
The senior lawyer described Sowore’s insistence on the DSS Director-General’s personal appearance as unreasonable, arguing that the case concerned official duties rather than any personal actions by the agency’s chief.
He maintained that, since the case arose from the DSS’s official actions, any duly authorised official of the agency could testify on its behalf.
In his ruling, Justice Umar held that the subpoena concerned official acts of the DSS and that the expected testimony was not personal to the Director-General.
The court consequently ruled that another DSS official could appear to give evidence on behalf of the agency.
Following the ruling, defence counsel Olumide Fusika, SAN, called the third defence witness, Michael Jego, an investigating officer with the DSS, who was subsequently led in evidence.
