The Department of State Services has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to remand Omoyele Sowore over his alleged failure to fulfil the bail conditions earlier granted by the court.
Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, is standing trial in a case filed by the DSS over alleged statements made against President Bola Tinubu on social media.
The DSS made the oral application on Monday through its counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, before Justice Mohammed Umar.
Kehinde told the court that Sowore had not complied with the bail terms set for him on June 30.
The court had granted Sowore bail in the sum of ₦200 million with two sureties in like sum.
One of the sureties was required to be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second surety must own landed property in Abuja.
The court also ordered Sowore to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Chief Registrar.
Kehinde argued that the defendant had not met the conditions, including the submission of his passport and the production of the required sureties.
He said Sowore had earlier been released to one of his lawyers pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
According to the DSS lawyer, court orders should be respected and should not be treated as mere formalities.
He urged the court to make an order remanding Sowore until the bail conditions are fully complied with.
Sowore’s counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, opposed the application.
Olumide-Fusika told the court that the process of perfecting the bail conditions was already ongoing.
He argued that it was not correct to say that the conditions had not been met, explaining that the court still needed to verify the documents and sureties presented.
Earlier in the proceedings, Sowore opened his defence by calling his first witness, Deji Adeyanju.
Adeyanju, a lawyer and activist, was led in evidence by the defence team.
The defence tendered video recordings in a flash drive, along with a certificate of compliance, as part of Sowore’s case.
Olumide-Fusika then requested an adjournment to enable the defence to play the video recordings on the next court date.
After listening to both sides, Justice Umar said he would wait until the close of work to see the steps taken by the defence toward meeting the bail conditions before deciding on the DSS request for remand.
The court later adjourned proceedings until July 13.
Sowore’s bail had earlier been revoked after he failed to appear in court on June 16 for his trial.
The DSS is prosecuting him over allegations that he made false claims against President Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in posts on X and Facebook.
Sowore has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The case has continued to attract public attention because of its political, legal and free-speech implications.
