A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the African Action Congress presidential candidate and online publisher, Omoyele Sowore, to enter his defence in his ongoing trial for the alleged criminal defamation of President Bola Tinubu, or risk being foreclosed. According to Channels Television, the directive came as the politically charged case returned before the court, pushing the long running matter into a decisive new phase.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar rejected a request by Sowore's counsel, Marshall Abubakar, that further hearing in the case be adjourned until after the court's forthcoming vacation. The judge declined to grant the delay, signalling that the proceedings would not be stalled by the approaching break in the court's calendar and that the trial had to move forward without further postponement.
Instead, the court ordered that further hearing be conducted on a daily basis, beginning from Friday, June 5, when the defendant is expected to open his defence. The judge tied the decision to the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which encourages day to day trials in order to avoid the kind of prolonged adjournments that have historically slowed criminal cases in the country.
At the heart of the matter is a prosecution brought by the Department of State Services, the DSS, over remarks Sowore published online. He is accused of making false claims against President Tinubu by describing him as a criminal in posts on his accounts on the platform X and on Facebook. The case has drawn close attention because it pits a vocal opposition figure and publisher against the country's highest office.
The sitting had originally been fixed for June 4 to obtain the chief judge's response to a letter written by Sowore on May 19, in which he requested that the case be reassigned to another judge. That request became a central procedural question, as the defence sought to move the matter away from the bench currently presiding over the trial before the substance of the case could proceed.
The prosecution told the court that it had been served on May 26 with a copy of the chief judge's response, dated May 22, in which the request for reassignment was declined and the court was directed to continue hearing the case. On that basis, the prosecution applied for the defendant to be ordered to enter his defence, arguing that there was no longer any obstacle to the trial continuing.
Sowore's counsel, however, contended that a portion of the chief judge's response had directed the defendant to file a formal application before the matter could move ahead. The disagreement over how to interpret that response framed the courtroom exchange, but the judge ultimately ruled that the defence must open its case, setting the stage for daily hearings from Friday.