Nigeria's Top Lawyer Intervenes in Sowore's Cyberstalking Trial

Nigeria's Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, unexpectedly appeared in court Tuesday for the prosecution in the trial of Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore. Fagbemi's presence marked his first appearance in the Federal High Court in Abuja for the cyberstalking case. He moved to block Sowore's attempt to subpoena the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Oluwatisin Ajayi, for cross-examination. The SSS has charged Sowore over social media posts from last year that labeled President Bola Tinubu a criminal. Sowore, who is also the presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC) in the upcoming 2027 elections, faces charges including criminal defamation, cyberstalking, and incitement. Fagbemi argued that Sowore's application to have the SSS chief testify was a tactic to delay the proceedings. He noted that the SSS had already allowed another official from the service to testify during a previous hearing. Sowore's defense team had requested the subpoena after a subpoenaed SSS official, Uwem Davies, struggled to answer questions during a July 22 hearing. Davies, a Principal Officer at the SSS, confirmed he wrote a letter, on the DG's directive, asking Sowore to remove posts causing societal tension. He stated this was the only such letter he authored regarding Sowore's posts about President Tinubu.

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the application for Ajayi to testify was to delay the proceedings.