WorldStage— The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a subpoena directing the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), to testify and produce President Bola Tinubu’s original nomination records spanning nearly three decades.
The court order is tied to the ongoing criminal prosecution of human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over social media publications in which he allegedly referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal.”
In a document titled “Subpoena Duces Tecum,” signed by Presiding Judge Mohammed Umar, the court commanded the INEC head to appear in Courtroom No. 5 to present two specific sets of historical declarations.
The first is Tinubu’s INEC Form CF001 from the 1999 Lagos State governorship election, which includes an affidavit concerning lost certificates.
The second document requested is the Form CF001 submitted by Tinubu prior to the 2023 presidential election.
Sowore’s defense counsel, Ruben Adakole, informed the court on Monday that the defense intends to examine the official documents as vital evidence to build their case.
Alongside Amupitan, the court also granted a request to subpoena Joe Igbokwe, a former publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, to testify as a defense witness.
However, the defense did not succeed on all fronts as Justice Umar dismissed an application filed by Sowore’s legal team that sought to compel the DSS lead prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), to testify as a witness.
Striking down the earlier subpoena issued against Kehinde, the judge ruled that legal practitioners owe their clients strict confidentiality and cannot ordinarily be forced to disclose communication regarding legal representation.
The court agreed with the prosecution’s argument that the application against the DSS counsel was brought in bad faith to deliberately delay proceedings.
Professor Amupitan has reportedly been served with the hearing notice.
The Federal High Court has adjourned further trial proceedings to Wednesday, November 11, 2026, when the subpoenaed defense witnesses are expected to appear.
