A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until June 30 a ruling on activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore’s bid to vacate the order revoking his bail.
Justice Mohammed Umar fixed the date on Wednesday after hearing arguments from both sides — Sowore’s defence team, led by Raphael Adakole, and counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinkolu Kehinde (SAN).
Adakole moved a motion seeking a stay of execution of the bail revocation order, arguing that the application — filed on June 19 and backed by a 25-paragraph affidavit — sought to set aside the court’s June 16 order and restore Sowore’s bail status. The defence also filed a further affidavit and a reply on points of law in response to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit.
Kehinde, however, urged the court to dismiss the application, insisting that Sowore had not placed truthful facts before the court sufficient to warrant a favourable exercise of judicial discretion. The DSS filed its own 25-paragraph counter-affidavit and written address in opposition.
After hearing both parties, Justice Umar adjourned for ruling. Following the adjournment, Adakole orally requested that Sowore be released into his custody pending the next date, but Kehinde opposed the request, arguing it could not be made orally. The judge declined, noting that granting the request would effectively pre-empt his ruling on the substantive application.
Sowore, also the publisher of Sahara Reporters, has been held at the Kuje Correctional Centre since Monday, when Justice Umar ordered his remand pending the hearing of the stay application. The court also dismissed a separate application seeking the judge’s recusal on grounds of alleged bias.
Sowore’s bail was revoked on June 16 after he failed to appear in court for his trial. The DSS is prosecuting him over social media posts in which he allegedly made false claims about President Bola Tinubu.
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