The arraignment of Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was stalled on Wednesday at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.
The State Security Service (SSS) charged Mr Sowore with defamation alongside “X” Incorp and Meta Corp (Facebook).
The matter, which was fixed for them to take their plea before Justice Mohammed Umar, could not proceed because neither Mr Sowore nor his lawyer was in court.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, was dated September 16.
Mr Sowore was alleged to have made a false claim against the person of President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” on his X and Facebook accounts.
When the case was called on Wednesday, the SSS lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, told the court that the matter was slated for arraignment and that all parties were ready, except Mr Sowore, who was absent and had no legal representation.
He informed the court that the prosecution received a letter on Tuesday night from “one Deji Adeyanju,” who claimed to be the lead lawyer in the case and requested an adjournment.
According to Mr Kehinde, “the letter was a ploy to delay the proceedings.”
“Our position is that this letter is grossly in bad faith, and it is meant to further delay this matter,” he said.
The senior lawyer recalled that on September 30, the arraignment could not proceed after Mr Sowore claimed he had not been served, even though “the charge was already in the media and the defendant was in court.”
He added that the court adjourned the matter to October 27, and on the adjourned date, although the court did not sit on the matter, the defendant was absent and was not represented.
He said the court registry fixed November 5 as the new date.
Mr Kehinde, however, expressed surprise that neither Mr Sowore nor his lawyer was in court, saying, “only for the 1st defendant to get a counsel who is impersonating the lead counsel on this matter.”
He said Mr Adeyanju’s letter alleged that the new date was “fixed off record without proper consultation.”
Mr Kehinde alleged that Mr Sowore was on television on Tuesday, telling viewers that “he has a case before your lordship today,” only for him not to appear in court.
“This is a disrespect to this court, and it is time your lordship issued a bench warrant for him so that he should be kept in custody until the next adjourned date so that nobody will be looking for him,” he prayed.
He also urged the court to discountenance Mr Adeyanju’s letter, describing it as “a mischievous letter.”
He observed that all Mr Sowore’s processes in the matter were filed by Femi Falana as lead lawyer and urged the court to disregard the letter and issue the bench warrant.
Similarly, the lawyer for Facebook, Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo, SAN, aligned with the submission of Mr Kehinde.
He said the letter, which he also received from Mr Adeyanju, was disrespectful to the parties and the court.
Mr Tayo-Oyetibo told the court that he travelled from Lagos for the hearing and received the letter at Abuja airport on Tuesday.
He added that the letter appeared to refer to a different matter, as it mentioned “4th of November rather than 5th of November.”
He said despite their assumption that the hearing date was November 4, neither Mr Sowore nor his lawyer was in court today (November 5).
The lawyer also informed the court that Mr Sowore had accused him on social media of “siding with the federal government against him.”
He, however, told the court that he did not oppose the application for a bench warrant by the prosecution.
On her part, the lawyer appearing for the 2nd defendant (X Incorp), Christabel Ndokwelu, argued that her client had not been properly served with the charge, though they were served with hearing notice.
She urged the court to ensure proper service, saying they were not ready for arraignment.
Mr Umar then confirmed from the court record that the 2nd and 3rd suspects were served electronically, but Ms Ndokwelu insisted that her client only received the hearing notice electronically.
The prosecution, however, insisted that a bench warrant be issued.
But the judge told Mr Kehinde that there was no need to rush and declined the request for the bench warrant.
Mr Umar, who directed the prosecution to serve Mr Ndokwelu with a copy of the charge in the open court, adjourned the matter until December 2 for arraignment.
The judge equally ordered that Mr Sowore be served with the hearing notice.
(NAN)
