Defamation trial: Court rejects uncertified document in Sowore’s defence

A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an uncertified court document presented as part of the defense in the criminal defamation trial of human rights activist Omoyele Sowore. Sowore, who is also the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, faces charges for allegedly describing President Bola Tinubu as a "criminal" in posts on X and Facebook.

During the proceedings, Sowore's counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, attempted to tender a document through the third defense witness, Wayne Elijah. Elijah, formerly on Sowore's legal team, stated he received the document from the prosecution on the defendant's behalf. However, the prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, objected, arguing that court records must be either original or Certified True Copies to be admissible as evidence.

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The document is rejected and marked as such.

Justice Mohammed Umar sustained the objection, ruling that the document, being a photocopy and in the custody of a counsel, could not be verified as untampered with. "The document is rejected and marked as such," the judge stated. Earlier, the second defense witness, Uwem Davies from the Department of State Services (DSS), testified that he authored a letter directing Sowore to remove the posts due to the tension they allegedly generated. Davies also confirmed he did not author another letter shown to him, which bore his name but was written by a retired colleague.

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The reason for certification is to be sure the document has not been tampered with.