The cyberbullying trial of human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, was stalled on Wednesday after the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Garba Umar, was absent from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The case, scheduled for hearing on November 11, 2026, could not proceed after the court registrar informed Sowore’s lawyers that the judge was indisposed and the court would not sit.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), and former Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, who had been subpoenaed to testify in the case, were also absent. No immediate explanation was given for their absence.
Amupitan’s absence came a day after he approached the Federal High Court to challenge the subpoena directing him to produce President Bola Tinubu’s electoral documents relating to the 1999 Lagos State governorship election and the 2023 presidential election.
Court documents obtained by SaharaReporters show that the INEC chairman, through his lawyers, filed a Motion on Notice dated November 10, 2026, seeking to set aside the subpoena issued on October 26.
In the application, Amupitan argued that the electoral forms requested by Sowore, as described in the subpoena, were unknown to him and were not in his custody.
“There is no form known as INEC CF01 for the Lagos State Governorship Election 1999 and INEC Form CF01 for the 2023 Presidential Election as such form as described are unknown and are not in the custody of the Applicant,” the application stated.
The INEC chairman further accused Sowore of acting in bad faith and seeking to embarrass the electoral commission.
In the grounds supporting the application, he described the subpoena as “mala fide, bad faith, irrelevant, fishy and speculative”.
An affidavit filed in support of the application also alleged that Sowore’s request was made “malafidel and in bad faith to embarrass the establishment”.
Amupitan additionally argued that he was not personally served with the subpoena, despite its delivery to INEC headquarters in Abuja.
According to the supporting affidavit, the subpoena was served on the commission’s Litigation and Prosecution Department on November 6, 2026, at about 12:30 p.m., but was not personally served on the INEC chairman.
The documents Sowore is seeking include Tinubu’s INEC Form CF001 and the affidavit concerning lost certificates submitted by the president as a candidate in the 1999 Lagos State governorship election. He is also seeking the Form CF001 Tinubu submitted to INEC for the 2023 presidential election.
The subpoena, titled Subpoena Duces Tecum, was issued in Charge No. FHC/CR/484/2025, in which the Federal Republic of Nigeria is prosecuting Sowore over his description of Tinubu as a criminal.
The order directed Amupitan to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja, produce the specified documents and testify on behalf of the activist.
At the previous sitting, Sowore had informed the court that his legal team had lined up several witnesses to testify in his defence. He had also secured subpoenas compelling Amupitan and Igbokwe to appear and give evidence.
However, Wednesday’s inability to sit meant that neither the witnesses nor Amupitan’s application to set aside the subpoena could be addressed.
The INEC chairman’s application remains pending before the court.
The case has been adjourned until Tuesday, November 17, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
