Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has 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 issued the warning on Thursday, stating that he would also order Sowore’s arrest and forceful production in court if he fails to attend the next sitting.
Justice Umar’s position followed submissions by the prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, who told the court that Sowore failed to attend the hearing despite evidence that he had been served a notice through his team of lawyers.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he made false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as a criminal in posts on his social media accounts.
At Thursday’s proceedings, neither Sowore nor any member of his legal team, said to number about 30 lawyers, was present in court.
Kehinde informed the court that the day’s proceedings were scheduled for the defence to conclude its cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.
The prosecutor added that confirmation from the court registry showed that hearing notices had been properly served on the defendant through his lawyers, just as the prosecution was also duly notified.
He argued that the defendant, who is expected to attend court for every sitting, had offered no explanation for his absence or that of his lawyers.
Citing Sections 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the prosecutor urged the court to revoke Sowore’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his immediate arrest and production in court.
In his ruling, Justice Umar confirmed that the defendant was duly served through his lawyers but noted that Sowore had consistently attended court since the trial began late last year.
The judge also observed that previous adjournments in the matter had been requested by both the prosecution and the defence.
He said the defendant should be given the benefit of the doubt since it was the first time he had been absent from his trial.
However, Justice Umar warned that if Sowore fails to appear at the next hearing, the court would grant the prosecution’s request to revoke his bail and issue a warrant for his arrest.
The case was subsequently adjourned to March 16 for continuation of trial, with the court ordering that another hearing notice be served on the defence.
