The prosecution in the trial of the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has opposed the defence’s demand that the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, personally appear in court to testify.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, argued that Sowore’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, could not insist on the personal appearance of the DSS Director General in compliance with a subpoena issued to him.
Kehinde cited the Supreme Court decision in Ishaq v. Soniyi (2002), where the court held that when a subpoena is directed to a named public officer, it would be inappropriate to insist that only the named officer can appear to comply with it.
The prosecution recalled that the Attorney General of the Federation, who led the prosecution team on July 28, 2026, had made a similar submission, arguing that another appropriate DSS official could represent the Director General.
Kehinde said the parties subsequently agreed that a DSS official would be nominated to represent Ajayi and testify on his behalf. He told the court that a designated DSS official was present and ready to testify.
He further argued that the DSS Director General had no personal interest in the case, having acted in his official capacity.
According to him, requiring the Director General to personally attend proceedings in every case involving the DSS would be impracticable, particularly because the Service has cases pending before different divisions of the Federal High Court.
However, Olumide-Fusika argued that the prosecution had abandoned the earlier understanding by failing to produce the designated DSS official at the previous adjourned sitting.
He maintained that because the subpoena and hearing notice were issued in the name of the DSS Director General, Ajayi was required to appear personally.
The defence counsel said the decision to subpoena the Director General followed the testimony of the second defence witness, Uwem Davies, a DSS official.
According to him, Davies repeatedly indicated during his testimony that certain questions could only be answered by the Director General.
Following the arguments, Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the matter until October 6, 2026, for a ruling on whether the DSS Director General can be compelled to personally appear and testify as a defence witness regarding actions taken by the Service.
Sowore is facing trial over allegations of cyberbullying arising from posts he published on X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook in August 2025, in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” and accused him of misrepresenting the level of corruption in Nigeria.