Abuja — Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a stern warning on Wednesday, threatening to strike out the case against the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore.
The judge expressed his dissatisfaction with the prosecution’s failure to properly serve the hearing notice to the co-defendant, Olawale Bakare.
The court session, slated for the re-arraignment of the defendants, took an unexpected turn when only Sowore was present.
Prosecuting counsel Mariam Okorie informed the court that, despite previous orders, she was unsure if Bakare had been served. The court registrar confirmed Bakare’s non-receipt of the notice.
”My lord, this is the fifth year since this charge was filed, the defendant has been denied access to his family since then because he has not been allowed to travel outside the country where his family lives.
“You cannot continually and perpetually hold the man under suspicion that he committed a crime and so we will apply that this case be struck out until the prosecution is ready to prosecute it,” Abubakar said.
In response, Sowore’s counsel, Mr. Marshall Abubakar, accused the prosecution of attempting to frustrate his client by neglecting to serve Bakare the hearing notice. Abubakar revealed that he had written to the Attorney-General of the Federation, urging the separation of charges to allow Sowore to stand trial alone.
Mariam Okorie, defending the prosecution’s stance, informed the court that they were awaiting the minister’s response before determining their next course of action.
Justice Nwite, expressing his willingness to grant an adjournment, emphasized that compliance with the court order to serve the 2nd defendant must be met by the next adjourned date. He cautioned that failure to adhere to the court’s directive would result in the case being struck out.
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“If you are not ready to go on with the matter, I am sounding this as the last warning that at the next adjourned date, I will strike out the matter even if heaven falls let it fall,” the judge said.
The judge adjourned the matter until December 5, 2023.
It is noteworthy that the Federal Government has charged Sowore and Bakare with allegations of treason and attempts to overthrow the former president.
