The Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday, urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to reject an application by Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, to subpoena its lead counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, as a defence witness in his ongoing trial on alleged cyberbullying.
The DSS, through its lawyer, Kenneth Cyril-Ita, told Justice Mohammed Umar that Sowore’s request was a ploy to delay his trial. Cyril-Ita argued that the subpoena was bad-faith and malicious in the criminal proceedings.
He further argued that under Section 192 of the Evidence Act, no legal practitioner may disclose any communication made to him in the course of his engagement, unless his client consents.
The DSS added that Sowore’s subpoena was an abuse of court process calculated to annoy and irritate its lead counsel.
Cyril-Ita, therefore, asked the court to set aside the subpoena issued against Kehinde by Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC).
Sowore, through his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide Fusika, SAN, served a subpoena on the DSS’ lead counsel to appear in court and give evidence in the trial of the defendant for allegedly cyberbullying President Bola Tinubu.
In his motion on notice against the execution of the subpoena, Cyril-Ita told the court that the evidence required from the subpoenaed witness is irrelevant to Sowore’s alleged cyberbullying trial.
The lawyer stated that, contrary to Sowore’s claim, no application was made before the court to suspend or adjourn the trial until 2027.
“By not setting aside the subpoena, the court is being invited to deprive the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a counsel of its choice in the prosecution of the matter as counsel cannot be a witness and counsel at the same time in the same matter,” he stated.
According to him, evidence of whether the complainant would seek adjournment in the suit, as shown in the publication, is a matter allegedly caught by Section 83(3) of the Evidence Act.
He, therefore, urged Justice Umar to set aside the subpoena and direct Sowore to continue his defence in the charges against him.
In his argument, Reuben Adakole, who represented Sowore, asked the court to uphold the subpoena against the DSS lead counsel as requested by the defendant to aid his defence.
After hearing both parties, Justice Umar adjourned the matter until Nov. 9 for a ruling.
