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 session of his cybercrime trial.
Justice Mohammed Umar, who is presiding over the case, issued the warning on Thursday, saying an arrest warrant could be issued to compel Sowore’s appearance should he remain absent from court proceedings.
Sowore is currently being prosecuted by the Department of State Services over allegations that he made false claims about President Bola Tinubu, referring to him as a criminal in posts published on his X and Facebook accounts.
During Thursday’s proceedings, neither Sowore nor his legal team appeared in court. The prosecuting counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), told the court that the defendant had been properly served with a hearing notice through his lawyers but still chose not to attend.
Kehinde noted that the defence was scheduled to conclude its cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, arguing that there was no justification for Sowore’s absence.
Relying on Section 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the prosecution asked the court to revoke Sowore’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his immediate arrest to ensure his appearance at trial.
In his ruling, Justice Umar acknowledged that the defendant had been duly notified of the hearing through his legal representatives. However, he noted that Sowore had consistently attended previous sittings since the trial began late last year.
The judge also pointed out that earlier adjournments in the case had occurred at the request of both the prosecution and the defence.
Granting the defendant the benefit of the doubt for what he described as a first-time absence, Justice Umar declined the prosecution’s request for immediate sanctions.
He warned, however, that if Sowore fails to attend the next hearing, the court would not hesitate to grant the application to revoke his bail and issue an arrest warrant.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until March 16 for continuation of the trial, with the court directing that another hearing notice be served on the defence.
