The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday warned that it may revoke the bail granted to the publisher of SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, following his absence at the hearing of his alleged cyberstalking case involving Bola Tinubu.
The trial judge, Mohammed Umar, cautioned that a bench warrant could be issued for the activist’s arrest if he fails to appear at the next adjourned date.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services over alleged defamatory comments he reportedly made about the President on his social media accounts.
The DSS accused the activist of referring to Tinubu as “a criminal” in posts published on his X and Facebook pages, alleging that the statements were false and capable of inciting public disorder.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Sowore and members of his legal team were absent when the matter was called up.
Counsel for the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), told the court that the case had been scheduled for the defence to conclude the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness.
Kehinde informed the court that the defendant had been properly served with a hearing notice through his lawyers, adding that there was no explanation for his absence.
He further stated that none of Sowore’s lawyers, whom he said were about 30 in number, appeared in court to represent him.
Citing provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the senior lawyer urged the court to revoke the defendant’s bail and issue a bench warrant to compel his appearance.
In his ruling, Umar confirmed that the hearing notice had indeed been served on the defendant through his legal representatives.
However, the judge observed that Sowore had attended previous sittings since the trial began late last year and noted that earlier adjournments were at the instance of both the prosecution and the defence.
Umar said the court would give the defendant the benefit of the doubt since it was the first time he failed to appear.
The judge, however, warned that the court would not hesitate to grant the prosecution’s request to revoke Sowore’s bail and issue a bench warrant if he fails to attend the next hearing.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until March 16 for continuation of the trial, with the court directing that another hearing notice be served on the defence.
Sowore had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of N10m with one surety in like amount.
The court ordered that the surety must be a responsible Nigerian with landed property within the Federal Capital Territory and must depose to an affidavit of means.
The judge also directed the defendant to deposit his international passport with the court registrar, while the surety is required to submit valid identification and the original title documents of the property for verification.
