By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has issued a final warning to the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, to resume his defence in the cybercrime charges brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS) or risk having his defence foreclosed.
The warning was issued on Thursday after Sowore’s lead counsel, Mr. Olumide Fusika (SAN), and his co-counsel, Reuben Adakole, failed to appear in court without any explanation, despite the defendant being present.
At the previous sitting on July 13, Adakole had applied for a lengthy adjournment until after the court’s annual vacation, citing the absence of Fusika, who was reportedly abroad attending to family matters. The application was, however, refused by the court.
Counsel to the DSS, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), opposed the request, arguing that the trial had already suffered 10 adjournments at the instance of the defendant. He contended that the fresh application was a deliberate attempt to frustrate the criminal proceedings.
Kehinde also reminded the court that it had earlier ordered an accelerated day-to-day trial in accordance with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
In a brief ruling delivered on July 13, Justice Umar rejected the application for a long adjournment and directed Sowore to return to court on July 16 for the continuation of his defence.
However, when the matter came up on Thursday, Sowore was in court but neither of his counsel was present, and no reason was provided for their absence.
Apparently displeased by the development, Justice Umar adjourned the case until July 22 and ordered Sowore to unfailingly resume his defence on that date. The judge warned that failure to do so would result in the defendant’s case being foreclosed, in line with the application made by DSS counsel, Kehinde.
Sowore is standing trial over allegations that he described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal in posts published on his Facebook page and X account.
The defendant had opened his defence with the testimony of his first witness, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, whose evidence-in-chief and cross-examination were concluded at the July 13 proceedings.