Federal High Court Rejects Sowore’s Attempt to Tender Uncertified Documents

The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an application by publisher and AAC presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, to tender uncertified documents in his ongoing trial over alleged defamatory statements against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Delivering ruling on Wednesday, Justice Mohammed Garuba Umar declined the application on after Sowore’s lead counsel, Olumide Fusika (SAN), sought to tender the documents through another lawyer, Wayne Chikezie Elijah. He held that the documents—comprising a witness summary and certain letters—were public documents which, under the Evidence Act, required certification before they could be admitted.

The documents included a summary of proceedings relating to the testimony of a witness identified as “XYZ”, as well as other letters.

During the proceedings, Fusika called Elijah as the third defence witness solely for the purpose of tendering the documents.

Before the witness was called, the court registrar had directed all prospective defence witnesses to leave the courtroom and remain out of hearing until called to testify. However, Elijah remained in the courtroom despite the directive.

Under cross-examination by counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), Elijah admitted that he had been both inside and outside the courtroom while the first defence witness, Uwen Davis, was giving evidence.

The DSS objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they were public documents which, under the Evidence Act, must be certified before they could be admitted in evidence.

Kehinde urged the court to reject the documents.

However, Fusika argued that the documents formed part of court records and therefore did not require certification.

In his ruling, Justice Umar held that the documents had remained in the custody of a lawyer who claimed to have previously handled the matter, making certification necessary to establish their authenticity.

“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?” the judge asked.

He subsequently rejected the documents and ordered that they be marked accordingly.

“The document is rejected and marked as such,” Justice Umar ruled.

Earlier, a Principal Officer in the General Services Department of the DSS, Uwen Davis, told the court that he authored a letter dated September 7, 2025, addressed to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of X Corporation.

According to Davis, the letter requested the removal of a social media post in which Sowore allegedly referred to President Tinubu as a criminal.

He said the letter warned that the post could trigger a breakdown of law and order because Tinubu’s supporters were becoming agitated.

During cross-examination, however, Davis admitted that he could not specifically identify the supporters referred to in the letter and stated that he prepared the correspondence on the instruction of a superior officer.

Following Wednesday’s proceedings, Justice Umar adjourned further hearing in the defence to July 28.

At the previous sitting on July 16, the judge had issued a final warning directing Sowore to open his defence or risk forfeiting the opportunity to do so.

Sowore is standing trial over allegations that he made defamatory statements against President Tinubu. He has denied the allegations, and the matter remains before the court.

… Federal High Court Rejects Sowore’s Attempt to Tender Uncertified Documents … Naijaonpoint.