Court warns Sowore over absence, threatens to revoke bail in Tinubu defamation case

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday warned that it could revoke the bail granted to Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, after he failed to appear in court for the continuation of his trial over alleged defamatory remarks against President Bola Tinubu.

The trial judge, Mohammed Umar, said he would issue a bench warrant for Sowore’s arrest if he fails to appear in court on the next adjourned date.

The warning followed an application by Akinlolu Kehinde, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Kehinde told the court that the defendant failed to appear despite being served with a hearing notice through his team of lawyers.

Sowore, also a politician, is being prosecuted by the DSS for allegedly making defamatory comments about the president on his social media accounts.

According to the prosecution, Sowore allegedly referred to Tinubu as “a criminal” in posts on X and Facebook.

When the matter was called on Thursday, neither Sowore nor any member of his legal team was present in court.

Kehinde said the matter was scheduled for the defence to conclude cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.

The prosecuting lawyer told the court that the registry confirmed that hearing notices were served on the defendant through his lawyers and that the prosecution was also duly served.

He added that no reason had been provided for Sowore’s absence.

Kehinde also noted that none of the defendant’s lawyers whom he said number about 30 was present in court or had communicated any reason for their absence.

Citing Section 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the prosecution asked the court to revoke the defendant’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his arrest to compel his appearance.

Ruling on the application, Justice Umar confirmed that the defendant had been served with a hearing notice through his lawyers.

However, the judge noted that Sowore had consistently attended court proceedings since the case began late last year.

He also observed that previous adjournments had been granted at the instance of both the prosecution and the defence.

Justice Umar said the court would give the defendant the benefit of the doubt since it was his first absence during the trial.

He warned, however, 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 adjourned until March 16 for continuation of trial, with the court directing that another hearing notice be served on the defence.