By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday prayed a Federal High Court in Abuja to order the remand of Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), over his alleged failure to fulfil the earlier bail terms.

The DSS lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, made the oral application before Justice Mohammed Umar adjourned the day’s proceedings until July 13.

Earlier, Sowore opened his defence by calling his 1st defence witness (DW-1), Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and an activist.

Adeyanju, who was led in evidence-in-chief by the defence lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, tendered recordings of video evidence in a flash drive and a certificate of compliance in Sowore’s defence.

Olumide-Fusika then sought an adjournment to enable them play the video recordings on the next adjourned date.

Shortly after the application, Kehinde reminded the court of a subsisting court order for Sowore’s bail.

The senior lawyer informed the court that the defendant was yet to fulfil any of the bail conditions made by the court.

“We urge your lordship to make a necessary order for the remand of the defendant until the bail conditions are met,” he applied.

Kehinde said Sowore, who was released to a lawyer that appeared for him on the last adjourned date pending when he fulfilled the bail terms, was yet to meet the conditions.

He said the defendant had not deposited his international passport with the deputy chief registrar of the court, had not produced a traditional ruler from his community as surety nor produced another surety who has a landed property in Abuja as ordered by court.

According to him, the defendant has not communicated to them whether that passport has been released to DCR.

The lawyer, who argued that the court order cannot be toyed with, said such orders are not made in vain.

However, Olumide-Fusika begged the court to exercise patience as the processes were ongoing for the perfection of the bail terms.

“It is incorrect that the conditions have not been met. When you meet bail conditions, the verification will have to be made by the court, and this is ongoing my Lord,” he said.

After both lawyers’ submission, Justice Umar held that although Sowore’s release order was signed on the last adjourned date, he would wait before the close of work to see what steps had been taken by the defence before making the order for Sowore’s remand.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Umar had, on June 30, admitted Sowore to a N200 million bail with two sureties in the like sum.

The judge, who ordered that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, held that the other must be a land owner in Abuja.

He was also ordered to submit his travel document to the deputy chief registrar of the court among other conditions.

Sowore’s bail revocation followed his failure to appear in court for his trial on Jine 16.

The DSS is prosecuting Sowore for allegedly making false claims against the person of President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in a post he made on his “X” and Facebook accounts. (NAN)

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