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A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday rejected two sets of documents tendered by Omoyele Sowore, politician and online publisher, in his ongoing trial on cyberstalking charges involving false claims against President Bola Tinubu.
The court also ordered an investigation into a leaked video of a previous court session.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly calling President Tinubu a criminal in posts on his “X” and Facebook accounts. The DSS maintains that Sowore’s claims are false and defamatory.
In the first ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar declined an application by Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, to admit documents including media reports on DSS dismissals, corruption charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former governors, and allegations of fraud involving EFCC officials.
The judge agreed with the prosecution that, since the first witness (PW1) testified that he had no knowledge of the documents, they could not be tendered through him.
“You cannot tender a document through a witness who said he did not know anything about it. The document is marked as rejected,” Justice Umar ruled.
In a second ruling, the court also rejected documents claiming that President Tinubu had, in 2011, disparaged former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo. The judge cited the same reasoning for the rejection.
Justice Umar further expressed concern after the prosecution reported that a member of the defence team had allegedly live-streamed court proceedings, an act the judge described as contempt of court.
Although Sowore’s lawyer denied any involvement, suggesting the leak may have originated from the DSS or the presidency, the judge vowed to order a security investigation.
During cross-examination, DSS official Cyril Nosike testified that President Tinubu’s official X account at the time of Sowore’s post was @officialABAT, contradicting the defence’s claim.
Nosike denied knowledge of various corruption allegations cited by the defence, stating that, as a security official, he was not a politician and was only able to speak to facts.
When asked about the defence’s suggestion that President Tinubu had called former leaders derogatory names in 2011, Nosike said he was unaware of such comments and would be surprised if such documents existed.
The witness also denied knowledge of claims related to alleged murders, corruption, and social media posts by political figures such as Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokri, stating he was unaware of these allegations or related investigations.
After nearly two days of cross-examination, Justice Umar asked defence counsel Abubakar when he intended to conclude his questioning.
Abubakar requested an additional day, citing important questions and documents still to be presented.
The prosecution urged the judge to decide on the adjournment.
Justice Umar noted that despite exceeding the previously granted time extension, the defence sought more time, indicating that the proceedings are ongoing.
