By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, November 5, rejected a request to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
The Department of State Services (DSS) sought Sowore’s arrest following his failure to appear before the court to face a five-count defamation and cybercrimes charge against him.
Sowore is being charged for calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” in a post he shared on social media platforms on August 25, while Tinubu was on an official visit to Brazil, where he claimed his administration had successfully ended corruption in Nigeria.
The charge was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr M. B. Abubakar, and alleged that Sowore committed offences contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024, as well as sections 59 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act.
Also cited as second and third defendants in the charge are X Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Incorp, the two social media platforms where the post was shared.
The DSS wrote the two social media platforms to demand a ban on Sowore’s account, and for the said statement to be pulled down.
It also wrote a letter to Sowore asking him to delete the post from all the platforms it was shared, a demand both Sowore and the social media platforms refused to accede to, necessitating the charge.
The defendants’ arraignment was first stalled on September 30 after Sowore’s lawyers argued that he had not been properly served with the charges.
It was rescheduled to October 27, but the court did not sit that day, prompting another postponement until Wednesday, but neither Sowore nor his defence team was present in court.
However, during the proceedings, lawyers to the other parties in the case alluded to a letter from Deji Adeyanju, who described himself as Sowore’s lead lawyer, requesting an adjournment of the case till another date.
Prosecution lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, recalled the chain of the trial since September 30, noting that Adeyanju’s letter alleging that the new date was “fixed off record without proper consultation” was “a ploy to delay the proceedings.”
Kehinde therefore applied orally for a bench warrant for the arrest of Sowore, arguing that the arraignment should not continue to be stalled.
He noted that all processes in the matter were filed by Femi Falana as lead lawyer and urged the court to disregard Adeyanju’s letter and issue the bench warrant.
Facebook’s lawyer, Tayo Oyetibo, said he was not against the issuance of a bench warrant against Sowore, adding that the letter from Adeyanju was disrespectful to the parties and the court.
Oyetibo further told the court that he travelled from Lagos for the hearing only to receive the letter at Abuja airport on Tuesday, adding that the letter appeared to refer to a different matter, as it mentioned “4 November rather than 5 November.”
The lawyer representing X, Christabel Ndokwelu, argued that her client had not been properly served and had only received a hearing notice, urging the court to ensure proper service so that her client would be ready for arraignment.
The trial judge, Mohammed Umar, declined the request to issue a bench warrant, noting that there was no need to rush.
He ordered the prosecution to properly serve X and also directed that Sowore be served the hearing notice for the new date.
Justice Umar thereafter adjourned proceedings till December 2.
