Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday warned that the bail granted to politician and online publisher Omoyele Sowore could be revoked if he fails to appear at the next hearing in his ongoing cybercrime trial.
The judge also said he would issue a bench warrant for Sowore’s arrest to compel his appearance in court if he does not attend the next sitting.
Justice Umar’s warning followed submissions by the prosecution, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Akinlolu Kehinde, who informed the court that the defendant failed to attend the hearing despite being served with a hearing notice through his legal team.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he made false claims against President Bola Tinubu by describing him as a criminal in posts published on his X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts.
At Thursday’s proceedings, neither Sowore nor any member of his legal team said to number about 30 lawyers was present in court.
Addressing the court, Kehinde said the matter was scheduled for the defence to conclude the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.
The prosecutor told the court he had confirmed from the court registry that a hearing notice was duly served on the defendant through his lawyers, adding that the prosecution had also received the notice.
Kehinde argued that there was no justification for the defendant’s absence, noting that Sowore was required to be present in court at every sitting and had not provided any explanation for his absence or that of his lawyers.
Citing Sections 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, the prosecutor urged the court to revoke the defendant’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his immediate production in court.
In his ruling, Justice Umar confirmed that Sowore had indeed been served with the hearing notice through his lawyers.
However, the judge noted that the defendant had consistently attended previous sittings since the trial began late last year.
He also observed that past adjournments had been requested by both the prosecution and the defence.
Justice Umar said the court would give the defendant the benefit of the doubt since it was the first time he had failed to appear for the proceedings.
Nevertheless, the judge warned that if Sowore fails to attend the next hearing, the court would grant the prosecution’s request to revoke his bail and issue a bench warrant for his arrest.
The case was subsequently adjourned until March 16 for continuation of trial, with the court ordering that a fresh hearing notice be served on the defence.
