diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index 972402e8c0..0db410d590 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 
 #define GIT_REFLOG_ACTION "GIT_REFLOG_ACTION"
 
-const char sign_off_header[] = "Signed-off-by: ";
+static const char sign_off_header[] = "Signed-off-by: ";
 static const char cherry_picked_prefix[] = "(cherry picked from commit ";
 
 GIT_PATH_FUNC(git_path_commit_editmsg, "COMMIT_EDITMSG")
diff --git a/sequencer.h b/sequencer.h
index 93e891309b..4d505b3590 100644
--- a/sequencer.h
+++ b/sequencer.h
@@ -107,8 +107,6 @@ int complete_action(struct repository *r, struct replay_opts *opts, unsigned fla
 		    unsigned autosquash);
 int rearrange_squash(struct repository *r);
 
-extern const char sign_off_header[];
-
 /*
  * Append a signoff to the commit message in "msgbuf". The ignore_footer
  * parameter specifies the number of bytes at the end of msgbuf that should