Omoyele Sowore
A Federal High Court in Abuja has revoked the bail earlier granted to the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, after he failed to appear for the continuation of his trial.
The decision was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Mohammed Umar following submissions by the prosecution regarding the defendant’s absence from court.
During the proceedings, prosecuting counsel Kehinde Akinlolu informed the court that Sowore was aware of the hearing date but did not appear. He urged the court to withdraw the bail granted to the AAC chieftain, arguing that his failure to attend court proceedings was unacceptable and had contributed to delays in the trial.
In response, the court considered a letter sent by Sowore seeking an adjournment of the matter. However, Justice Umar observed that the application did not provide any explanation or justification for the request.
The judge subsequently revoked Sowore’s bail and fixed June 22 for the continuation of the hearing.
The case is expected to resume on the adjourned date as the court moves forward with the trial.
Sowore Reacts to Court’s ruling, , Alleges Move to Influence Trial
Meanwhile, Sowore has reacted to the revocation of his bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja, describing the decision as a planned attempt to exert control over his ongoing trial.
In a post shared on X on Tuesday, Sowore expressed surprise over the court’s decision, insisting that he had appeared in court on the previous sitting date.
“It has been brought to my notice that the judge presiding over my case concerning ‘Tinubu is a criminal’ has revoked my bail, despite my presence in court yesterday, when the judge was not in attendance; consequently, we requested a new date,” he wrote.
Sowore further stated that the matter scheduled for hearing was his application seeking the judge’s recusal, but alleged that the court instead proceeded to revoke his bail.
“The agenda for today was to consider my application seeking the judge’s recusal, but instead, he opted to revoke my bail in a bid to assert forceful control over the trial. I will confront these developments with determination and resilience,” he said.
The activist maintained that the development was premeditated and vowed to continue pursuing his case.
“This was all planned but it shall not prevail. The struggle continues!” Sowore added.
