Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed June 30 for ruling on an application filed by the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, seeking to set aside the court order revoking his bail.
Gatekeepers News reports that the judge scheduled the ruling after hearing arguments from Sowore’s counsel, Raphael Adakole, and the Department of State Services (DSS) prosecutor, Akinkolu Kehinde (SAN), over a motion seeking a stay of execution of the bail revocation order.
When the matter came up on Wednesday, Adakole informed the court that the case was slated for the hearing of the defence application.
According to him, the motion on notice, dated June 17 and filed on June 19, was brought pursuant to Sections 35(4), 36(1) and 66(a & b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Sections 169 and 352 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, and the inherent jurisdiction of the court.
The defence urged the court to set aside its June 16 order revoking Sowore’s bail and issuing a bench warrant for his arrest following his absence from court on that date.
Adakole also sought an order restoring the status quo that existed before the revocation order.
He told the court that the application was supported by a 25-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Emmanuel Larry and urged the court to grant the reliefs sought in the interest of justice.
Following the prosecution’s counter-affidavit, the defence filed a further affidavit on June 24 and asked the court to discountenance the DSS’s response.
However, Kehinde opposed the application and urged the court to dismiss it.
According to the senior advocate, the DSS filed a 25-paragraph counter-affidavit and a written address challenging the defence application.
He argued that Sowore had failed to present credible facts that would justify the court exercising its discretion in his favour.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Justice Umar adjourned the matter until June 30 for ruling.
Shortly after proceedings, Adakole requested that Sowore be released to him pending the court’s decision and undertook to produce him on the next adjourned date.
Kehinde objected to the request, arguing that such an application could not be validly made orally.
In response, Adakole said he was appearing on behalf of senior advocate Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, whom he described as “of impeccable character whose words should mean something to the court”.
Justice Umar, however, questioned whether granting the request would amount to pre-empting his ruling on the substantive application and declined to entertain it.
The judge subsequently maintained the earlier adjournment.
On June 22, Justice Umar ordered the remand of Sowore, who is also the publisher of Sahara Reporters, at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of his application challenging the bail revocation order.
The court also dismissed an earlier application by Sowore seeking the judge’s recusal from the case over allegations of bias.
Justice Umar had revoked Sowore’s bail on June 16 following his failure to appear in court for trial and subsequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
The DSS is prosecuting Sowore over allegations that he made false claims against President Bola Tinubu by describing him as “a criminal” in posts published on his X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts.
