Online publisher and former African Action Congress, AAC, presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore’s bail has been threatened with revocation in his ongoing trial on charges bordering on cybercrime before Federal High Court in Abuja.
The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, in a brief ruling, also noted that he would issue an arrest warrant for Sowore to be forcefully produced should he fail to attend court on the next hearing date.
The court’s position followed applications made by the prosecuting lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, who noted that Sowore chose not to attend court proceedings despite evidence that he was served with a hearing notice through his team of lawyers.
On the last adjourned date, parties could not agree on a date for the matter to be heard following the unavailability of the trial judge.
Proceedings on Thursday revealed that the defendant was actually served with a hearing notice, just as the prosecution was also served, but did not appear in court, as Sowore and his lawyers were absent.
The defence is expected to conclude the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.
Kehinde, during proceedings, said there was no reason why the defendant, who ordinarily should be present in court at every sitting, failed to attend, while calling for the revocation of the bail granted to him and the issuance of a bench warrant against him.
In his ruling, Justice Umar, who noted that the defendant had always attended court since the case began late last year, stated that past adjournments granted in the case had been at the instance of both the prosecution and the defence.
The trial judge, however, stated that the defendant should be given the benefit of the doubt since it was his first time of being absent from his trial.
The trial judge then adjourned the matter till March 16 for continuation of trial and ordered that a hearing notice be further issued on the defence.
Efforts made by AIT.live to reach out to Sowore’s lawyer, as to the reasons why his client was not in court, proved abortive.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the State Security Service, SSS, for allegedly making false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in a post he made on his X and Facebook accounts.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
