Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, or another designated official of the agency to appear and testify in his ongoing alleged cyberbullying trial.
Sowore, through his counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, made the request on Monday following the failure of the DSS to produce the official expected to testify on behalf of the agency.
Olumide-Fusika told the court that if the DSS representative failed to appear on the next adjourned date, the defence would have no option but to apply for an order compelling Ajayi himself to appear.
The development occurred during the resumed hearing of the case before Justice Umar Mohammed, following the failure of DSS counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, to produce the expected witness despite an earlier understanding that an official of the service would appear.
Kehinde told the court that it was not his responsibility to provide a representative of the DSS Director-General to testify, arguing that the defence ought to have made the necessary arrangements for the witness before the resumption of proceedings.
The prosecution counsel also maintained that the defence was not ready to proceed and sought the court’s permission to make an application for the closure of the defence’s case.
The judge, however, dismissed the application and questioned the prosecution over its position, particularly its apparent lack of knowledge of the earlier understanding that a representative of the DSS would appear before the court.
The dispute over the witness followed an undertaking made during proceedings on July 28, 2026, when the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, told the court that a representative of the service would appear on behalf of Ajayi.
Following that undertaking, the defence agreed that another competent DSS officer could testify if the Director-General was unable to appear personally.
Olumide-Fusika expressed concern over the absence of the expected witness and argued that the prosecution should honour the understanding previously reached before the court.
According to the defence lawyer, the agreement was that if Ajayi could not appear personally, another competent officer of the DSS would be made available to testify on behalf of the service.
He argued that the undertaking should be respected, particularly because it was made during proceedings involving lawyers representing the Federal Government.
“Even if he’s not the Attorney-General of the Federation, if it’s just between two lawyers, once your Lordship is aware that this is the understanding, as honourable members of this profession, we should expect that that understanding should be fulfilled,” he told the court.
The defence also drew the court’s attention to reports concerning an alleged plan by the DSS to seek the suspension of Sowore’s trial until after the 2027 general election.
The issue has previously been reported by several Nigerian media organisations. On August 30, reports emerged that the DSS had directed its counsel to seek an adjournment of the case until after the 2027 presidential election to enable Sowore, an AAC presidential candidate, to participate fully in the electoral process.
The reports stated that the decision followed a meeting involving Ajayi, Kehinde and senior officials of the DSS legal directorate.
The DSS position, as reported at the time, was that temporarily pausing the case would enable Sowore to participate in electioneering activities without the court proceedings constituting a hindrance.
Olumide-Fusika sought to tender copies of publications concerning the reported position of the DSS, arguing that the reports were relevant to the circumstances surrounding the absence of the expected witness.
The defence had earlier raised the issue after Kehinde denied in open court knowledge of reports that the agency had directed him to seek a suspension of the trial until after the election.
PREMIUM TIMES subsequently reported that Kehinde had spoken by telephone about the proposed suspension and its rationale. The DSS counsel, however, had earlier reportedly described some of the accounts as social media creations.
SaharaReporters also reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the DSS had initially sought to suspend the trial until after the 2027 election but subsequently reversed its position and directed its counsel to resume the prosecution.
The defence argued that the reported position of the DSS could provide context for the failure to produce the expected witness.
Olumide-Fusika told the court that the defence was unable to proceed because the witness was absent and requested an adjournment to enable the defence to obtain a fresh hearing notice and ensure that the witness was brought before the court.
“My Lord, the witness is not here,” the lawyer told the court, adding that nobody was above the law and that the defence would take the appropriate legal steps if the witness continued to refuse to appear.
Kehinde, however, objected to the defence’s reliance on media and social media reports.
He told the court that the publication being referred to had not been served on him and that he was unaware of its contents.
The prosecution counsel also questioned the propriety of the defence relying on alleged communications between the DSS and its lawyers as reported in the media.
He urged the court not to entertain the publication, insisting that court proceedings should not be conducted through social media.
“Litigations are not put on social media. We are past that level in this country,” he told the court.
Olumide-Fusika maintained that the reports were relevant to the circumstances surrounding the witness’s absence and insisted that the defence had not fabricated the information.
The latest development comes against the background of the DSS prosecution of Sowore over social media posts made in August 2025 concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The DSS approached the Federal High Court after Sowore declined to remove the posts following an ultimatum from the agency.
The defence also informed the court that it had yet to receive a Certified True Copy of the charge and accompanying processes, particularly the summary report of XYZ, despite an application for the documents having been approved by the court’s leadership.
Olumide-Fusika said the document was important because its absence had previously prevented the trial from proceeding.
“We applied for the document because it was the one that stopped the trial from going on the last time. We still haven’t gotten it. So, I’m just appealing to the court,” counsel said.
The judge subsequently directed the court registrars to make the Certified True Copy of the documents available before the close of the day.
The case was thereafter adjourned until Friday, October 2, 2026, when proceedings are expected to continue and the issue of the DSS witness is expected to come up again.