The alleged treason case filed by the federal government against a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, was stalled on Tuesday at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court due to the judge’s absence.

Mr Sowore is standing trial before Justice Emeka Nwite on allegations of treasonable felony.

Then-President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime had accused Sowore of treason following his call for a protest tagged #RevolutionNow on August 5, 2019.

Mr Sowore was in court on Tuesday, but the matter could not continue.

His counsel, Marshall Abubakar, said the court registrar had informed him that the judge was on national assignment in another jurisdiction of the court.

Mr Abubakar said he had to take a new hearing date, February 14, 2024.

On the last adjourned date on November 15, Justice Nwite had threatened to strike out the four-year-long case if the government failed to obey an order of the court to serve the charge on the second defendant.

However, the prosecutor, Mariam Okorie, said she was unaware if the second defendant, Olawale Bakare, had been served with the notice.

Mr Sowore’s counsel had told the court that the prosecution team was only trying to frustrate his client by its inability to serve the second defendant the hearing notice for him to appear in court.

Mr Abubakar said he had written a letter to the attorney-general of the federation asking that the charge be severed so that Mr Sowore could take his plea and stand trial alone.

The prosecutor also told the court that since they had written to the justice minister, they would have to wait for the attorney general’s response to know the next line of action.

Mr Nwite had, at the time, said that he was willing to grant an adjournment on the condition that by the next adjournment date, the prosecution team would comply with the court’s order to serve the second defendant.

The judge had warned that he would strike out the case if the court’s order to serve the second defendant were not complied with.

(NAN)