The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned till 23th October for the arraignment of Nigeria Human Rights Activist Omoyele Sowore’s and an online publication platform SaharaReporters.
Reacting to the adjournment, yesterday, Tope Temokun on his official Facebook page wrote, :
Today at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in the case of FRN v. Omoyele Sowore & Sahara Reporters, the government’s attempt to arraign Sowore once again hit a brick wall.
The fiery Marshal D F Abubakar of Falana Chambers, led an array of human rights lawyers including Adeyanju Deji in defence of Omoyele Sowore, the 1st Defendant, raising strong objections to the arraignment. While the court was poised at making a case for proceeding with arraignment today and taking the objections after arraignment and plea, the proceedings took a dramatic turn when I, Tope Temokun, rose up to announce that I was appearing in protest for Sahara Reporters, the 2nd Defendant and I thereby entered a conditional appearance, raising the fundamental question: “Is Sahara Reporters a juristic person capable of standing trial?”
This unexpected objection left both the prosecution and the court unsure and unsettled. The court had no choice but to adjourn, effectively stopping the arraignment for today!
Today’s events prove once again that the boat of prosecution of Sowore in this charge, like other pending cases of similar character, is not only a political boat but also an ill-fated boat legally destined to hit a rock midsea and capsize. The struggle is not just about Sowore in the dock; it is about defending voice of Nigerian people, the right to dissent, and the soul of democracy.
The politicians abuse the people everyday, abuse our parents and tag the children, the youth, lazy and we are all silent, but when one person summon the courage to return one per cent of the abuses we receive, it is not the children of those in power, but the children of the oppressed poor, the accomplices among the children of the oppressed who will still rise up in defence of the politicians, citing culture, respect, religion etc.
What I know is that someday, Nigeria shall be free!
The case now stands adjourned to October 23, 2025. Until then, the question remains: how do you arraign what does not exist in law? He posted
The court subsequently adjourned till 23th October for arraignment.
Mr Sowore who was present in court is facing a 3 count charge of alleged forgery and mutiny before Justice Emeka Nwite.
