Court Threatens To Revoke Sowore’s Bail And Order His Arrest

The Federal High Court in Abuja has warned that the bail granted to politician and publisher Omoyele Sowore could be revoked if he fails to appear at the next hearing of his cybercrime case.

Justice Mohammed Umar gave the warning on Thursday, adding that the court may also issue a warrant for Sowore’s arrest if he does not show up for the next hearing.

The warning followed arguments from the prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), who informed the court that Sowore did not attend the hearing even though a notice had been properly delivered to his legal team.

Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he made false statements about President Bola Tinubu.

The case is linked to a social media post on his X and Facebook accounts in which he reportedly described the president as a criminal.

When the case was called on Thursday, neither Sowore nor any of his lawyers were present in court. The defendant’s legal team reportedly consists of about 30 lawyers.

Addressing the court, Kehinde explained that the day’s proceedings were meant for the defence to complete the cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness.

He said the court registry confirmed that the hearing notice had been properly served on the defendant through his lawyers, just as the prosecution had also received its own notice.

The prosecutor questioned why Sowore was absent from court, noting that defendants are expected to be present during their trial.

He also pointed out that neither Sowore nor his lawyers provided any explanation for their absence.

Kehinde then referred to Section 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and asked the court to revoke Sowore’s bail and issue a bench warrant to compel him to appear in court.

In his ruling, Justice Umar acknowledged that the hearing notice had indeed been served on Sowore through his lawyers.

However, he noted that the defendant had attended previous hearings since the case started late last year.

The judge also pointed out that earlier adjournments in the matter had been requested by both the prosecution and the defence.

Because this was the first time Sowore had failed to appear in court, the judge said he would give him the benefit of the doubt.

However, Justice Umar made it clear that if Sowore does not attend the next hearing, the court will consider granting the prosecution’s request to cancel his bail and issue a warrant for his arrest.

The judge then adjourned the case until March 16 for continuation of the trial, with the court directing that another hearing notice be served on the defence.

KanyiDaily recalls that the DSS recently revised the cybercrime charges it brought against Omoyele Sowore.