Court dismisses Sowore’s bid to compel DSS DG to testify in trial

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, in the 2027 general election, Omoyele Sowore, has lost his bid to compel the Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Tosin Ajayi, to personally appear in court as a witness in his trial.

Sowore is being prosecuted for allegedly cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu.

Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Abuja Federal High Court, in a ruling on Monday, dismissed Sowore’s application.

Justice Umar delivered the ruling on arguments for and against the subpoena issued to the DSS Director General at the request of the defence.

Sowore, through his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide Fusika, SAN, had sought an order of the Federal High Court to compel the DG’s appearance to testify on official activities of the DSS relating to the cyberbullying case instituted against him.

However, the DSS, represented by Akinlolu Thomas Kehinde, SAN, opposed the move, arguing that another official of the agency could testify on the DG’s behalf.

The lawyer argued that it was absurd for Sowore to be insisting on the DSS DG’s appearance in court in an action that was purely official and not personal.

He argued that since the DSS has put Sowore on trial, any official delegated by the organization can testify for the establishment.

In his ruling, Justice Umar held that the subpoena concerned an official act 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 the agency’s behalf.

Following the ruling, defence counsel, Fusika, called the third defence witness, Michael Jego, an investigating officer with the DSS, to give his evidence.