Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) lead prosecutor, A.T. Kehinde, SAN, of attempting to evade appearing as a defence witness in the criminal defamation case instituted against him over his description of President Bola Tinubu as a criminal.
Sowore made the allegation after proceedings in the case, which centred on the prosecution’s opposition to Kehinde appearing as a witness for the activist.
According to Sowore, he personally invited the senior lawyer to testify on his behalf, but Kehinde subsequently filed a counter-affidavit opposing the move.
Speaking after the proceedings, Sowore said the defence had filed a response to the prosecution’s motions challenging Kehinde’s proposed appearance as a defence witness.
“The proceeding today was to file and hear our counter to the prosecutor’s motions against him appearing as a witness for me,” Sowore said.
“I’m the one who invited him to come and be my witness. But he’s running away. So he has filed a counter-affidavit, and we have responded adequately and sufficiently to his counter.”
The activist disclosed that the presiding judge had indicated that a ruling on the issue would be delivered on Monday.
He, however, said the prosecution attempted to respond orally to the defence’s counter-affidavit, a move his legal team opposed on the grounds that proceedings must comply with the rules governing a court of record.
“So Monday, the judge said he would rule on our counter. As usual, he was trying to respond to our counter orally. We are reminded that the court is a court of record. So we can’t accept that. So that’s where we are. We’ll be back on Monday,” he said.
Sowore vowed to continue challenging the case, alleging that the prosecution was part of a broader attempt to prevent him from participating in the 2027 general elections.
He further alleged that the pressure against him had escalated beyond efforts to frustrate his political ambitions, claiming that there were attempts to endanger his life before the next general elections.
“And we will continue this struggle, no matter what is thrown at us. Why we are in courts is because they don’t want me to participate in the election,” he said.
“And now that that has been made possible, they don’t want me to be alive before the election. Don’t get it wrong. Everything you’re seeing that’s happening to me is engineered from Abuja.”
The AAC presidential candidate also accused security operatives of monitoring his movements and targeting him whenever he travelled outside Abuja.
He alleged that a tracking device had been placed on his vehicle to monitor his movements, claiming that attacks against him and members of his team had followed a recurring pattern whenever he travelled to other parts of the country.
“Notice any time I travel out of Abuja, they will go and attack me. They will place a tracker on my car. So Ekiti is their latest, but they have failed very woefully,” Sowore said.
His comments appeared to reference the recent attack on him and members of his team in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, which he has repeatedly linked to political and security interests.
Sowore alleged that the incident was part of a wider effort to intimidate him, restrict his movements and frustrate his political and human rights activities across the country.
Despite the alleged threats, the activist insisted that he would not abandon his political engagements or the ongoing legal battle.
“We will continue with the struggle without looking back,” he said.
He also expressed concern over the scheduling of court hearings, alleging that dates were repeatedly fixed to coincide with his planned political and advocacy engagements outside Abuja.
According to him, the pattern had become a source of concern because his activities required him to travel to different parts of the country.
“We also notice that any time they hear that we want to go and do something outside, they will fix the court date on that day,” he alleged.
Sowore disclosed that he had planned to travel to Ogoniland on November 10 to participate in activities commemorating the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders.
He said the court had scheduled a hearing for the same day, prompting him to formally apply to the judge to notify the court that he would be unable to attend because of the planned engagement.
“So we will travel around this country, and our next trip was supposed to be to Ogoniland for the Ken Saro-Wiwa members on November 10th,” he said.
“So now they have put a hearing date for that day. I have applied to the judge to let him know that I will not be able to come on that day. But we will see what happens.”
Saro-Wiwa, a prominent writer, environmental activist and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), was executed alongside eight other Ogoni activists by the military regime of late General Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995, following their conviction by a special tribunal.
Their executions attracted widespread international condemnation and remain a defining moment in the history of environmental activism, human rights advocacy and the struggle for justice in the Niger Delta.
Sowore has consistently described the criminal defamation case against him as an attempt to silence his criticism of the government and undermine his political participation.
His latest allegations come amid tensions surrounding his legal battles, political activities and the reported attack on him and his associates in Ekiti State.
The court is expected to rule on the dispute surrounding the proposed appearance of the DSS lead prosecutor as a defence witness, while the substantive criminal defamation case continues.