*Court to rule on DSS counsel’s subpoena
A member of the legal team of online publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, Treasure Adefisoye, on Monday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that she was unaware of the provisions of Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act.
The lawyer made the admission while responding to questions from the lead prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, after seeking to tender printouts of online reports claiming that the Department of State Services (DSS) was considering suspending Sowore’s cyberbullying trial until after the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
Sowore recently opened his defence in the cyberbullying case instituted against him by the DSS over an August 2025 social media post in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”.
At the resumed hearing of his defence on Monday, Adefisoye, who is a member of the legal team led by Olumide Fusika, SAN, sought the court’s permission to tender copies of the media reports.
However, Kehinde objected to the admissibility of the printed documents and asked Adefisoye whether she was aware of the provisions of Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act. She responded in the negative.
The prosecution counsel subsequently asked her to read out the relevant provision of the Act, which states that a document made during the pendency of a matter cannot be tendered in evidence in the same proceedings.
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned until Tuesday to rule on the DSS’s objection to the defence’s request to compel its lead prosecuting counsel to testify as a defence witness through a subpoena.
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.
After listening to arguments from both parties, Justice Muhammad Umar adjourned the matter until Tuesday for a ruling on the prosecution’s objection to the subpoena.
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