Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general elections, Omoyele Sowore, on Wednesday escaped a warrant for his arrest being issued by a federal high court sitting in Abuja, following his failure to appear for arraignment.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged defamation alongside “X” Meta Corp (Facebook). He allegedly called President Bola Tinubu “criminal” on the social media platforms.
During proceedings on Wednesday, Counsel to the Department of the State Service DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, urged Justice Mohammed Umar to issue a bench warrant against Sowore for being absent in court without justification, having been served the charges and hearing notice from the last adjourned date.
The senior lawyer said that staying away from court despite being served with the charges is an affront to the sanctity of the court and must be treated with the punishment deserving of such behavior.
Kehinde said Sowore’s action was disturbing and unacceptable because no lawyer appeared for him as required by law.
He urged the Judge to invoke its inherent power to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendant by security agents whereever he may be.
Earlier in the proceeding, the DSS lawyer 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.
META (Facebook) INC, through their lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, aligned himself 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 from of distraction as Sowore knows what he is doing.
Justice Umar however 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.
The trial Judge then directed that all parties be duly served and thereafter 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, noting that only a hearing notice was served.
After taking arguments, Justice Umar fixed December 2 for arraignment of all the defendants and also directed that hearing notices be served on them.
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