*Orders Igbokwe, INEC Chairman To Appear
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has set aside a subpoena issued at the instance of activist Omoyele Sowore against Akinlolu Kehinde, counsel to the State Security Service (SSS), in his ongoing alleged cyberbullying trial, holding that lawyers are generally protected from being compelled to disclose confidential communications with their clients.
Delivering the ruling on Monday, November 9, 2026, Justice Mohammed Umar held that legal practitioners owe their clients a strict duty of confidentiality, which generally prevents them from being compelled to disclose communications obtained in the course of legal representation.
The judge explained that the obligation of confidentiality forms part of the professional relationship between lawyers and their clients and must be respected in judicial proceedings.
Justice Umar, however, clarified that a lawyer may be compelled to testify in limited circumstances, particularly where the evidence sought relates to an uncontested matter or an issue that would not adversely affect the interests of the client.
The court consequently set aside the subpoena issued against Kehinde, declining Sowore’s attempt to compel the SSS lawyer to testify in the ongoing proceedings.
Following the ruling, Sowore’s defence counsel, Ruben Adakole, informed the court of the defence team’s intention to subpoena the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Joe Igbokwe as defence witnesses.
The court subsequently granted the request and directed that subpoenas be issued to the two proposed witnesses.
The decision followed the defence’s move to obtain electoral documents relating to President Bola Tinubu and question Igbokwe over his alleged involvement in reactions to Sowore’s social media publication, which forms part of the ongoing proceedings.
According to the details of the subpoena, the INEC chairman is being summoned in his official capacity to produce Tinubu’s electoral records in the custody of the Commission.
The documents sought include Tinubu’s nomination records for the 1999 Lagos State governorship election, including an affidavit relating to lost certificates, and his nomination documents for the 2023 presidential election.
The subpoena also requires Professor Amupitan to testify as a defence witness concerning the requested records.
The defence’s request is understood to be connected to its attempt to examine whether the President’s official electoral declarations provide a factual basis for Sowore’s disputed description of him, although the activist has not publicly disclosed the full reasons for seeking the testimony of the two witnesses.
The decision to summon Amupitan does not suggest that he personally received Tinubu’s earlier electoral submissions or participated in any alleged wrongdoing, as the request concerns documents held by the electoral commission.
Igbokwe, on the other hand, is being summoned in connection with evidence previously given by SSS investigating officer Michael Jego concerning reactions to Sowore’s social media publication.
Jego had informed the court that Igbokwe was among those who commented on the publication and called on Sowore to retract his statement.
The defence subsequently indicated its intention to call Igbokwe, whose testimony may provide an opportunity to examine his reaction to the publication and the account attributed to him by the investigating officer.
While the precise questions the defence intends to put to Igbokwe have not been disclosed, his proposed testimony is connected to the evidence already presented concerning responses to Sowore’s statement.
The two men are being summoned as witnesses and not as accused persons in the proceedings.
The court’s decision to issue the subpoenas does not amount to a determination of the allegations against President Tinubu or establish that the requested evidence will support Sowore’s defence. It permits the defence to seek their testimony and the relevant documents as part of the trial.
Following the ruling and the order directing the issuance of subpoenas, Justice Umar adjourned the matter until November 11, 2026, for the appearance of the subpoenaed defence witnesses.
The proceedings will therefore continue with the court having rejected the attempt to compel the SSS lawyer to testify on matters protected by professional confidentiality, while allowing the defence to pursue testimony from the INEC chairman and Joe Igbokwe.
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