What was supposed to be a straightforward day in court for activist Omoyele Sowore quickly turned into full-blown drama after two Senior Advocates clashed, forcing the judge to abruptly adjourn proceedings.

It was tense inside the courtroom on Monday as the defamation trial of activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), was brought to a sudden halt.

According to cbinews.tv, things got heated after Sowore’s lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), asked the court for more time. He told Justice Muhammed Umar that although the court had approved the release of certain documents on July 27, he only received them on Monday. Without those documents, he argued, he could not properly cross-examine the next witness, a DSS official.

That explanation did not sit well with the DSS counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN). He pushed back hard, accusing the defence of using delay tactics to frustrate the trial and urged the court to close the defence’s case entirely.

And that was when the exchange really flared up.

Olumide-Fusika insisted the fault was not from the court but from the registry. He explained that the defence applied for the Certified True Copy (CTC) on July 22, 2026, but was repeatedly told the judge had not approved it, only to later discover that Justice Umar had actually approved it on July 27.

“Obviously, the fault is not from Your Lordship’s end. It is a registry issue. The document is prefatory to the continuation of the defence,” he told the court.

He also disclosed that the defence had been reliably informed that a DSS witness was in court following a subpoena issued to the Director-General of the DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, but without the certified records, they could not proceed.

Kehinde, however, maintained that the defence had a duty to diligently follow up on its application at the registry instead of waiting till the hearing date. He reminded the court that both parties had agreed at the last adjourned date that a nominated DSS officer would appear for the defence, and that the prosecution had kept its side of the bargain.

Relying on Section 36(4) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution, he argued that what the law guarantees is an opportunity to be heard, not an unlimited right to delay proceedings.

Responding, Fusika described the accusation as insulting, given the cost and effort of attending court. He argued that the documents were crucial to their line of questioning under Sections 4 to 13 of the Evidence Act, and if they truly wanted to delay, they could have insisted on dragging the DSS Director-General himself to court.

The back-and-forth reached a boiling point when Fusika interrupted Kehinde’s further submissions and described his conduct as that of a “persecutor” rather than a prosecutor.

Justice Umar immediately cautioned both counsel, warning that any further outburst would lead to a referral to the appropriate disciplinary bodies.

The judge observed that since the prosecution closed its case, the defence had only called one witness, with about four adjournments already at its instance. Despite that, he ruled that he could not continue with the hearing.

The matter has now been adjourned to September 20, 2026, for continuation of the defence.

Credit: cbinews.tv

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