By Stephen Simon
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday revoked the bail earlier granted to the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, and issued a bench warrant for his arrest following his absence from court.
Justice Mohammed Umar made the order after granting an oral application by counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinkolu Kehinde (SAN), who urged the court to take action against the defendant for failing to appear for proceedings.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the DSS 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.
The matter was scheduled for ruling on an application filed by Sowore through his lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, seeking the recusal of Justice Umar from further handling of the case.
However, when the matter was called on Tuesday, neither the defendant nor his counsel was present in court.
The court was informed that Sowore had sent a letter seeking an adjournment of the proceedings.
Opposing the request, DSS counsel, Kehinde, argued that the defendant failed to provide any convincing reason for his absence and urged the court to reject the application.
He further prayed the court to revoke Sowore’s bail and issue a bench warrant for his arrest to ensure his appearance before the court.
In his ruling, Justice Umar granted the application, revoked the defendant’s bail and ordered that a bench warrant be issued for his arrest.
The judge held that the defendant had failed to appear before the court as required and directed security agencies to ensure compliance with the order.
The case was subsequently adjourned pending further proceedings.
