Judges Issue Last Reprieve in Libel Case, Warn Sowore's Team of Potential Dismissal of Their Argument

A Federal High Court in Abuja has given a stern ultimatum to Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress's presidential candidate in the 2023 election, regarding the persistent delays in his ongoing criminal defamation trial.

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The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, cautioned during Thursday's hearing that the defence would be foreclosed if Sowore or his counsel failed to proceed with the case on the next scheduled date.

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Sowore's lead counsel, Mr Olumide Fusika, was absent from the proceedings, prompting the judge to issue this warning, with Sowore's lawyer, Mr Marshall Abubakar, explaining that Fusika was attending to a family matter outside the country.

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Abubakar requested another adjournment, but this was opposed by the Department of State Services' counsel, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde, who argued that the defence had consistently caused delays in the trial.

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Kehinde reminded the court that the matter had been adjourned several times at the defendant's request, despite an earlier order for an accelerated hearing.

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Justice Umar stated that the court had previously accommodated the defence, but would no longer tolerate unnecessary delays, granting a final adjournment and warning that the defence would be deemed closed if Sowore or his counsel failed to proceed on the next hearing date.

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The case was adjourned until July 22 for the continuation of Sowore's defence, with Sowore standing trial for referring to President Bola Tinubu as a "criminal" in posts on his Facebook and X platforms.

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The DSS had initially included X and Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms Incorporated, as defendants in the suit, but later moved to have the companies removed, leaving Sowore as the sole defendant.