A lawyer on the legal team of online publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that she was unfamiliar with Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act.
The lawyer, Treasure Adefisoye, made the admission on Monday while responding to questions from the lead prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, during the continuation of Sowore’s defence in his alleged cyber-bullying trial.
The exchange followed an attempt by the defence to tender printouts of online media reports claiming that the Department of State Services (DSS) was considering suspending the trial until after the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
Kehinde objected to the admissibility of the printed reports and asked Adefisoye whether she was aware of Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act. She answered in the negative and said she was not very conversant with the law.
The prosecution counsel then asked her to read the provision to the court. The section, as described during the proceedings, concerns restrictions on admitting certain documents made while legal proceedings are pending.
Adefisoye is part of Sowore’s legal team, led by Olumide Fusika, SAN.
Sowore recently opened his defence in the case brought by the DSS over an allegation that he cyber-bullied President Bola Tinubu by describing him as a “criminal” in a social media post. The allegation remains before the court.
Meanwhile, the court is expected to rule on Tuesday on the DSS’s objection to the defence’s attempt to subpoena Kehinde to testify as a defence witness.
The prosecution argued that the subpoena was issued in bad faith, was intended to divert attention from the case and was contrary to the law and established judicial practice.