Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has warned that he may revoke the bail granted to politician and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, if he fails to appear at the next hearing in his ongoing cybercrime trial.
Gatekeepers News reports that the judge also said a bench warrant could be issued to compel Sowore’s arrest and production in court should he fail to attend the adjourned sitting.
Justice Umar issued the warning on Thursday after the defendant and his team of lawyers were absent when the case came up for hearing.
The prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), told the court that Sowore had been served with a hearing notice through his lawyers but still failed to attend.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged false claims against President Bola Tinubu. The charge stems from a social media post on X and Facebook in which he allegedly referred to the president as a criminal.
At Thursday’s proceedings, neither Sowore nor any member of his legal team—said to be about 30 lawyers—was present in court.
Reacting to the development, Kehinde informed the court that the matter was scheduled for the defence to conclude its cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.
He said checks with the court registry confirmed that hearing notices had been served on the defence through Sowore’s lawyers, just as the prosecution also received its own notice.
According to him, there was no explanation for the absence of the defendant, who is expected to be present at every court sitting.
Citing Sections 352(1) and (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Kehinde urged the court to revoke the defendant’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his immediate production in court.
In his ruling, Justice Umar acknowledged that Sowore had indeed been served with a hearing notice through his legal representatives. However, he noted that the defendant had consistently attended court since the trial began late last year.
The judge also observed that previous adjournments had been requested by both the prosecution and the defence.
He therefore said the defendant would be given the benefit of the doubt since it was the first time he had failed to appear in court.
Justice Umar, however, warned that if Sowore fails to attend the next hearing, the court would not hesitate to grant the prosecution’s request to revoke his bail and issue a warrant for his arrest.
The case was subsequently adjourned until March 16 for continuation of trial, with the court directing that another hearing notice be served on the defence.
