Following his failure to appear for arraignment, activist and convener of #RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, escaped the issuance of a warrant for his arrest by a Federal High court sitting in Abuja.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged defamation alongside “X” Meta Corp (Facebook) for allegedly calling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “a criminal” on the social media platforms.
This was as Counsel to the DSS, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, prayed the court presided over by Justice Mohammed Umar to issue a bench warrant against Sowore for his absence in court without justification.
Kehinde, SAN, said that Sowore was duly served the charges and hearing notice from the last adjourned date, adding that the defendant’s absence in court despite being served with the charges was an affront to the sanctity of the court and must be treated with the punishment deserving of such behaviour.
The DSS Counsel further said that Sowore’s action was disturbing and unacceptable, stressing that no lawyer appeared for him as required by law.
Kehinde therefore urged Justice Umar to invoke its inherent power to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of Sowore by security agents wherever he may be.
Earlier, the Counsel to the DSS drew the attention of the court to a letter by a lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, calling for an adjournment of the case, hence his request for a bench warrant, noting that Sowore is only taking the court for granted.
In the same vein, META (Facebook) INC, through their lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, aligned with the prosecution’s request for a bench warrant against Sowore, stating that he (Sowore) had accused them of taking sides with the prosecution.
Oyetibo noted that the letter for adjournment is a form of distraction as Sowore knows what he is doing.
However, in his ruling, Justice Umar noted that the submission of the 2nd defendant, X Corporation, that they have not been served the charge sheet even though they received hearing notice was a ground to excuse Sowore’s absence.
Accordingly, Justice Umar directed that all parties should be duly served and adjourned the case to December 2, 2025 for arraignment to take place.
Meanwhile, counsel to “X” Corp, Christabel Ndiokwelo told the court that the complainant had yet to serve the formal charges on their client, saying that only a hearing notice was served.
After taking arguments, the Court fixed December 2, 2025 for arraignment of all the defendants and directed that hearing notices be served on them.
