The trial of the Convener of #RevolutionNow and Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, took a dramatic turn on Monday after his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide Fusika, SAN, accused counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS) of acting as “a persecutor rather than a prosecutor.”

The heated exchange prompted the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to caution both senior lawyers against inflammatory remarks, warning that he could refer them to the appropriate disciplinary body if they failed to conduct themselves with restraint.

Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the matter until September 20, 2026, for continuation of the defence.

The courtroom drama erupted after Chief Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, counsel to the DSS, accused the defence of deliberately employing delay tactics to frustrate the proceedings..

Responding sharply, Fusika rejected the allegation, insisting that neither he nor his client was interested in delaying the trial.

He argued that if the defence truly intended to stall the proceedings, it would have insisted that the Director-General of the DSS, Dr. Tosin Ajayi, personally honours the subpoena earlier issued by the court.

Last week, the court subpoenaed Ajayi to appear and testify, but he did not attend.

According to Fusika, the defence instead agreed that another DSS official could testify in his place following interventions involving the Attorney-General of the Federation.

“The matter is slated for continuation of defence. I’m reliably informed that the witness is in court on behalf of the DG based on the subpoena we served on the DG,” Fusika told the court.

He explained that the day’s proceedings could not continue because the defence had filed an application on July 22, 2026, but only discovered shortly before the sitting that it had been approved by the court on July 27.

According to him, the delay was caused by administrative issues within the court registry rather than any action by the defence.

“The problem is not from the court; it’s a registry issue. The document is relevant to the case this morning,” he said.

Fusika further accused the prosecution of shifting blame to the defence instead of addressing the substantive issues before the court.

“We granted concessions to them because of the AGF. If we had wanted to delay, we would have insisted that the DG, DSS should come, but we conceded because of the AGF.

“We only got to know this morning that the application was approved. We work with the registry; it was only this morning we became aware when we came to court. We can’t go into the records of the court.

“We are not trying to delay proceedings. This court is on vacation. If I wanted to delay, I would insist on going for my vacation,” he said.

Earlier, Kehinde urged the court to reject the defence’s application and accused Sowore’s legal team of persistently frustrating the trial.

“I’ll be opposing the position of the defence on the ground that it is part of the delay tactics of the defence to keep the case on the court’s docket,” Kehinde argued.

He maintained that the prosecution had fulfilled its own obligations by producing a DSS officer to testify, in line with the understanding reached at the previous adjournment.

“It is trite that when an application is made, it is the responsibility of the applicant to follow up on it. I urge the court to foreclose the defendant because they are here to waste everyone’s time.

“The court can issue a foreclosure where repeated opportunities have been given to the defence and they have consistently and persistently frustrated those opportunities,” he submitted.

Following the exchanges, Justice Umar warned both counsel to moderate their language in court and cautioned that continued misconduct could attract disciplinary action.

The matter was thereafter adjourned to September 20, 2026, for continuation of the defence.