The trial of activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore on alleged cyberbullying charges was on Monday stalled at the Federal High Court in Abuja after a heated exchange between counsel for the defence and the prosecution.
The disagreement arose when Sowore’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), requested another adjournment, explaining that the defence had been unable to obtain Certified True Copies of court documents needed to continue its case.
Addressing the court, Fusika said the defence had already been informed that a witness from the Department of State Services was present in response to a subpoena served on the agency’s Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi. However, he argued that proceeding without the certified documents would be difficult.
“We applied for the Certified True Copy on July 22, but the registry repeatedly informed us that Your Lordship had not approved the request. We later discovered that approval had actually been granted on July 27. The delay was clearly from the registry and not the court,” he said.
The prosecution opposed the application, accusing the defence of unnecessarily prolonging the trial.
Lead prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), argued that the defence had sufficient opportunity to pursue the documents before the hearing date.
“The prosecution fulfilled its own part of the agreement by ensuring that the DSS witness was available in court. It was the responsibility of the defence to diligently follow up its application at the registry,” Kehinde said.
He urged the court to close the defence’s case, maintaining that repeated adjournments were delaying the proceedings.
“The Constitution guarantees parties the opportunity to be heard, but it does not grant an unlimited right to delay a criminal trial,” he argued.
Responding, Fusika rejected the allegation that the defence was deliberately frustrating the proceedings, insisting that the delay resulted from administrative issues within the court registry.
He also noted that the documents sought were relevant to the defence’s case and necessary for the planned examination of witnesses.
“The suggestion that we are deliberately delaying this matter is insulting. We have invested significant time and resources in attending these proceedings, and if delay were our intention, we could have insisted on calling the DSS Director-General to testify,” he said.
Justice Muhammed Umar observed that since the prosecution closed its case, the defence had called only one witness and had requested several adjournments.
Proceedings later became tense when Fusika interrupted Kehinde during further submissions and described him as a “persecutor” rather than a prosecutor.
The remark drew an immediate warning from the judge.
Justice Umar cautioned the senior advocate against further outbursts, warning that any repeat of such conduct could lead to his referral to the appropriate disciplinary authorities.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until September 20, 2026, for continuation of the defence.
At an earlier hearing, the defence had withdrawn its subpoena seeking the appearance of the DSS Director-General after the prosecution argued that the evidence the defence intended to obtain had already been admitted during the trial.
The Federal Government is prosecuting Sowore on a two-count charge of cyberbullying over social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” on X and Facebook. Sowore has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
