A Federal High Court in Abuja has warned that it may revoke the bail granted to activist and politician Omoyele Sowore if he fails to appear at the next hearing in his ongoing cybercrime trial.
Justice Mohammed Umar issued the warning on Thursday, stating that the court would also issue a bench warrant for Sowore’s arrest should he fail to attend the next scheduled sitting.
The warning followed submissions by the prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), who told the court that Sowore failed to appear despite being served with a hearing notice through his team of lawyers.
Sowore is currently being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he made a false claim against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The charge stems from a post he allegedly published on the social media platform X (Twitter) and Facebook, where he referred to the president as a criminal.
At Thursday’s proceedings, neither Sowore nor any member of his legal team was present in court.
Addressing the court, Kehinde said the matter was scheduled for the defence to conclude its cross-examination of the first prosecution witness. He added that a check with the court registry confirmed that hearing notices had been served on the defendant through his lawyers, just as the prosecution also received notice.
The prosecutor subsequently invoked Sections 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, urging the court to revoke Sowore’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his arrest to ensure his appearance in court.
In his ruling, Justice Umar acknowledged that Sowore had been duly served through his legal representatives but noted that the defendant had consistently attended previous court sessions since the trial began late last year.
The judge also observed that earlier adjournments in the matter had been granted at the instance of both the prosecution and the defence.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the case to March 16 for continuation of trial and ordered that another hearing notice be issued to the defence.
