Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has suffered another setback in his alleged cyberbullying trial after the Federal High Court in Abuja rejected his attempt to compel a lawyer representing the Department of State Services (DSS) to testify.
Justice Mohammed Umar, in a ruling on Monday, set aside the subpoena issued against the DSS counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, holding that legal practitioners were bound by professional confidentiality and could not ordinarily be forced to disclose communications relating to their representation of clients.
The ruling marks the fifth setback suffered by Sowore in the course of the trial over his description of President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”.
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The judge explained that a lawyer could only be compelled to testify in limited circumstances, particularly where the evidence sought concerned an uncontested matter or an issue that would not prejudice the client's interests.
Following the decision, defence counsel, R.O. Adakole, informed the court of the defence's intention to subpoena the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Joash Amupitan, and an All Progressives Congress chieftain, Chief Joe Igbokwe, as witnesses.
Justice Umar granted the application and directed that subpoenas be issued to both individuals to appear before the court.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until November 11, 2026, for the appearance of the subpoenaed defence witnesses.
Monday's ruling is the latest in a series of unfavourable decisions for the activist in the case.
In mid-October, the court rejected a similar application by Sowore seeking to compel the DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Ajayi, to testify about the agency's official activities relating to the case.
The court upheld a counter-application by the DSS, represented by Kehinde, arguing that another senior official could provide the required evidence on behalf of the agency.
Consequently, Michael Jego, a DSS investigating officer, was delegated to represent the agency in the proceedings.
Earlier, on June 22, 2026, Justice Umar ordered Sowore's remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, a week after revoking his bail.
The judge also rejected Sowore's request for him to withdraw from the case over allegations of bias.
On May 8, 2026, the court dismissed the activist's no-case submission, ruling that the DSS had presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against him.
Justice Umar consequently directed Sowore to open his defence.
The decision followed an earlier dismissal of his preliminary objection challenging the legality of the trial in April.
The court also rejected his application seeking to terminate the proceedings on the grounds that they violated his fundamental human rights.
In another ruling delivered on April 2, Justice Umar refused to grant any of the three reliefs sought by Sowore in a fundamental rights enforcement suit against the DSS, its Director-General and Meta Corporation, the owners of Facebook and X.
The judge maintained that freedom of expression did not give individuals unlimited liberty to make statements capable of damaging the reputation of others.
“The law will frown at any expression that will cast aspersion on others in the name of expressing the constitutional right to freedom of expression,” Justice Umar ruled.
The court also awarded N1.5m in costs against Sowore, directing him to pay N500,000 each to the three respondents.
Monday's decision adds to the series of legal defeats recorded by the activist as he prepares to present his defence in the cyberbullying trial.
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