Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 30 to rule on an application filed by former African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, seeking to set aside the revocation of his bail and the bench warrant issued for his arrest.
The judge scheduled the ruling after hearing arguments from Sowore’s counsel, Raphael Adakole, and counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinkolu Kehinde (SAN), who opposed the application.
When the matter was called, Adakole informed the court that the case was slated for the hearing of a motion on notice dated June 17 and filed on June 19.
The application, brought pursuant to Sections 35(4), 36(1) and 66(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as Sections 169 and 352 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, seeks an order vacating the court’s June 16 decision revoking Sowore’s bail and issuing a bench warrant for his arrest over his failure to appear in court.
The lawyer urged the court to restore the status quo that existed before the June 16 ruling, arguing that the application was supported by a 25-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Emmanuel Larry.
Following the prosecution’s counter-affidavit, Adakole told the court that the defence had filed a further affidavit on June 24 and urged the court to discountenance the prosecution’s response.
However, Kehinde strongly opposed the application, relying on a 25-paragraph counter-affidavit and a written address filed by the DSS.
The senior advocate argued that Sowore had failed to place sufficient and credible facts before the court to warrant the exercise of its discretion in his favour and urged the court to dismiss the application.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Justice Umar adjourned the matter until June 30 for ruling.
Shortly after the adjournment, Adakole requested that Sowore be released into his custody pending the ruling, undertaking to produce him in court on the next adjourned date.
Kehinde opposed the request, arguing that such an application could not be made orally.
In response, Adakole said he was holding brief for senior advocate Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, whom he described as “a person of impeccable character whose words should mean something to the court.”
Justice Umar, however, questioned whether granting the request would amount to determining the substantive application before delivering his ruling and declined to make any order, opting instead to maintain the status quo.
On June 22, the judge ordered Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, to be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his application challenging the revocation of his bail.
The court also dismissed Sowore’s earlier application seeking Justice Umar’s recusal from the case on grounds of alleged bias.
Justice Umar had revoked Sowore’s bail on June 16 after he failed to appear in court for the continuation of his trial and subsequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
The DSS is prosecuting Sowore over allegations that he made false claims against President Bola Tinubu by describing him as “a criminal” in posts published on his X and Facebook accounts.
