A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, March 12, 2026, threatened to revoke the bail granted artivist, politician and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore in his ongoing trial on charges bordering on cyber crime.
The court presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar, who issued the threat, also said that he would issue an arrest warrant for the forceful production of Sowore should he fail to attend court on the next hearing date.
Justice Umar’s position was based on observations and applications by the prosecuting lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, who noted that Sowore chose not to attend court despite evidence that he was served with hearing notice through his team of lawyers.
At Thursday’s hearing, Sowore was absent and so were all his lawyers numbering about 30.
Kehinde noted that the business of the day was for the defence to conclude his cross examination of the first prosecution witness.
The prosecuting lawyer said he confirmed from the court’s registry that hearing notice was served on the defendant through his lawyers, just as the prosecution was also served.
Kehinde said there was no reason why the defendant, who should ordinarily be present in court at every sitting, is not in court and also failed to provide any reason why he and his lawyers, who are about 30 in number, were not in court.
Citing the provision of Section 352(1)&(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, Kehinde prayed the court to among others, order the revocation of the bail granted the defendant and issue a bench warrant against him for his immediate production in court to face his trial.
In his short ruling, Justice Umar, who confirmed that Sowore was duly served with the hearing notice through his lawyers, noted that the defendant has always attended court since the case began late last year.
The trial judge also noted that past adjournments granted in the case was at the instance of both the prosecution and the defence.
Justice Umar however, said the defendant should be given the benefit of the doubt since it was his first time of being absent in his trial.
Justice Umar therefore warned that should Sowore fail to attend court on the next date, he would not hesitate to grant the prosecution’s request for the defendant’s bail to be revoked and arrest warrant issued against him.
The judge then adjourned till March 16, for continuation of trial and ordered that hearing notice be further issued on the defence.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly making false claim against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by referring to him as a criminal in a post he made on his ‘X’ and Facebook accounts.
