The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, to appear on Wednesday and produce President Bola Tinubu’s electoral nomination documents in the criminal trial of activist Omoyele Sowore.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar directed Amupitan to produce the documents and testify as a defence witness in the case, which is scheduled to continue on Nov. 11.
The documents include Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted for the 1999 Lagos State governorship election, alongside an affidavit concerning lost certificates.
The court also requested the president’s Form CF001 submitted to INEC for the 2023 presidential election.
The subpoena, issued in charge number FHC/CR/484/2025, followed an application by Sowore’s defence team, which said it intended to call Amupitan and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Joe Igbokwe as witnesses.
The judge granted the request and ordered both men to appear.
The subpoena states, “You are hereby commanded in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division.”
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over social media posts in which he allegedly described Tinubu as a criminal.
In a related ruling, Justice Umar set aside an earlier subpoena against DSS lead counsel Akinlolu Kehinde, holding that lawyers are generally protected by professional confidentiality.
The judge adjourned the case until Wednesday for the appearance of the defence witnesses.
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