May 08, (THEWILL) — The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, dismissed a no-case submission filed by activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, and ordered him to open his defence in the ongoing cyberbullying case instituted against him by the Department of State Services.
Justice Mohammed Umar, while delivering a ruling on the application, held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Sowore sufficient to require him to respond to the allegations brought before the court.
Sowore is facing prosecution over alleged false claims made against President Bola Tinubu on his social media platforms, including “X” and Facebook, where he allegedly referred to the president as “a criminal”.
At the close of the prosecution’s case, Sowore, through his lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, filed a no-case submission, contending that the DSS had failed to establish any evidence linking him to the alleged offence and therefore lacked grounds to compel him to enter a defence.
The defence argued that the evidence led by the prosecution was insufficient to sustain the charge and urged the court to discharge the defendant.
However, counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, opposed the application and urged the court to dismiss it, insisting that the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case requiring the defendant to explain his actions before the court.
In his ruling, Justice Umar agreed with the prosecution’s argument and consequently dismissed the no-case submission.
The court thereafter directed Sowore to enter his defence in response to the allegations already made against him by the prosecution.
Shortly after the ruling, the court granted audience to Sowore following an oral application by his counsel.
While addressing the court, Sowore accused Justice Umar of bias and alleged that the judge had humiliated his lawyer during an earlier proceeding by directing him to kneel before the court.
The activist told the court that he was uncertain he would receive justice under the present circumstances and requested that the judge recuse himself from further handling of the matter.
His lawyer, Abubakar, subsequently aligned himself with the defendant’s position and formally urged the judge to withdraw from the case.
Responding, prosecuting counsel Kehinde objected to the oral request, arguing that any application seeking the recusal of a judge must be properly brought before the court through a formal written application.
In a short ruling, Justice Umar directed the defence counsel to file a formal application stating the grounds for the recusal request and serve the same on the prosecution.
The matter was thereafter adjourned till May 19 for hearing.
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