Court Rejects Sowore’s Bid To Tender Uncertified Documents In Defamation Trial

Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has turned down a bid by the presidential candidate of the African Alliance Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, to tender uncertified documents in his trial for allegedly defaming President Bola Tinubu.

The court, yesterday, refused the bid when Sowore’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika (SAN) applied to tender some uncertified documents through another lawyer, Wayne Chikezie Elijah.

The documents are a summary of proceedings in the testimony of a witness codenamed XYZ, along with other letters.

Midway into the day’s proceedings, Fusika called Elijah as his third witness in the defence of the activist for the purpose of tendering the documents.

Trouble started shortly after the court’s registrar announced that those to testify in the matter for the defence should go out. The lawyer ignored the ordert.

When he was called into the witness box as the second witness for the day, the DSS lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) asked him to confirm his presence in court when the first witness of the day, Uwen Davis, was testifying.

Sensing the implications of his presence in the courtroom against the Registrar’s directive, the legal practitioner informed Justice Mohammed Garuba Umar that he was inside and outside the courtroom when the first witness was giving evidence.

DSS proceeded to object to the tendering of the documents on the ground that they were public documents and ought to be certified before being admitted as exhibits.

Kehinde, SAN, urged the Judge to reject admitting the documents and mark them as rejected on the ground that the bid offended the Evidence Act.

Sowore’s counsel, Olumide Fusika, SAN, however countered the DSS lawyer, arguing that the documents came from court records and needed no certification.

Ruling on the application, Justice Umar held that the documents came from the custody of a counsel who claimed had earlier been a counsel in the matter.

“The reason for certification is to be sure the document has not been tampered with. Having been in the custody of the said counsel, how is the court sure that the document has not been tampered with?” quizzed the judge.

Justice Umar subsequently rejected the documents and marked them as rejected.

“The document is rejected and marked as such,” he declared.

Earlier, Uwen Davis, a Principal Officer, General Services in the DSS testified that he authored a letter dated September 7, 2025, and delivered same to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of “X Corporation” requesting him to delete the post where Sowore allegedly called President Bola Tinubu a criminal.