By Ayo Kehinde
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday gave the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, more time to perfect the conditions attached to his N200 million bail after the Department of State Services (DSS) urged the court to remand him for allegedly failing to comply with the order.
Justice Mohammed Umar declined to grant the oral application for Sowore’s immediate remand, saying he would wait until the close of business on Monday to ascertain the extent of compliance with the bail conditions before taking any decision.
The ruling followed an application by counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, who argued that the defendant had yet to fulfil the conditions imposed by the court when bail was granted on June 30.
Earlier in the proceedings, Sowore opened his defence by calling lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju as his first defence witness (DW-1).
Led in evidence by defence counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, Adeyanju tendered a flash drive containing video recordings alongside a certificate of compliance as documentary evidence in support of Sowore’s case.
Following the admission of the exhibits, Olumide-Fusika requested an adjournment to enable the court to play and examine the video recordings at the next hearing.
The application was not opposed, and Justice Umar adjourned the trial until July 13 for the continuation of the defence.
However, immediately after the adjournment was granted, DSS counsel reminded the court that the order admitting Sowore to bail remained subject to strict compliance with its conditions.
Kehinde told the court that although Sowore had been released to a lawyer at the last sitting pending the perfection of his bail, he had not fulfilled any of the conditions.
According to him, the AAC presidential candidate had yet to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court, produce a traditional ruler from his community as one of his sureties, or provide a second surety who owns landed property within the Federal Capital Territory, as directed by the court.
He further argued that the defence had not informed either the prosecution or the court whether the travel document had been submitted.
“We urge Your Lordship to make the necessary order for the remand of the defendant until the bail conditions are met,” Kehinde submitted, insisting that court orders must be obeyed and should not be treated as mere formalities.
Responding, Olumide-Fusika urged the court to exercise patience, maintaining that the process of perfecting the bail conditions was ongoing.
He argued that compliance with bail terms involves verification by the court after the necessary documents and sureties have been presented, adding that the verification process had not been concluded.
“It is incorrect to say the conditions have not been met. Once the requirements are fulfilled, the court still has to verify them, and that process is ongoing,” the senior advocate said.
After listening to both parties, Justice Umar said that although the release order had been signed on the previous adjourned date, he would await developments before the close of work to determine whether the defendant had taken sufficient steps to comply with the bail conditions before deciding on the prosecution’s request for remand.
Justice Umar had on June 30 admitted Sowore to bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties in like sum.
The court ordered that one surety must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second must be a landed property owner in Abuja.
Sowore was also directed to surrender his international passport to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court, among other conditions.
The bail order came after the court revoked Sowore’s earlier bail over his failure to appear for his trial on June 16.
The DSS is prosecuting Sowore over allegations that he made false and defamatory statements against President Bola Tinubu, whom he allegedly described as “a criminal” in posts published on his X and Facebook accounts.
The matter has been adjourned until July 13, when the court is expected to continue hearing the defence and determine whether the defendant has fully complied with the conditions of his bail.
