Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has withdrawn his application seeking to compel Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, to testify in his ongoing cybercrime and criminal defamation trial before Federal High Court in Abuja.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sowore is being prosecuted by the DSS over social media posts in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.” At the previous hearing on July 22, his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), had indicated plans to subpoena the DSS Director-General to produce a September 7, 2025 letter directing Sowore to retract the posts after a DSS witness, Uwem Davies, was unable to adequately answer questions relating to the document.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), appeared in court and challenged the subpoena, arguing that it was procedurally defective and unnecessary because the disputed letter had already been admitted as evidence.
He also maintained that the DSS chief was being summoned in his official capacity over a document authored by another officer, making the application an abuse of court process.
Sowore’s lawyer initially objected to Fagbemi’s participation in the proceedings, arguing that the Attorney-General had not formally filed the required notice to take over the prosecution. However, after discussions between both senior lawyers, Olumide-Fusika informed the court that he would no longer insist on Ajayi’s personal appearance, agreeing instead that another DSS official could testify on issues relating to the letter.
Following the agreement, Justice Mohammed Umar held that there was no need to rule on the arguments surrounding the subpoena and adjourned the case until August 3 for the DSS to produce an appropriate official to testify.
