The planned arraignment of a former Presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters at the Federal High Court in Abuja, could not hold on Wednesday due to the absence of the Sahara Reporters as second accused person.
The arraignment in charges of forgery, defamation and alleged incitement to mutiny, was slated for arraignment before Justice Emeka Nwite, the vacation Judge for the Abuja division of the court.
However, when the matter was called, the court was informed that the second defendant had not been served with the court summons as required by law.
The prosecuting counsel explained that efforts to serve the second defendant through substituted means, by publishing the summons, had not been successful as the publication was not ready.
Justice Nwite subsequently fixed September 15 as a fresh date for the arraignment.
The fresh charges against Sowore and Sahara Reporters, filed earlier in August, relate to a series of reports published on Sahara Reporters about an alleged police promotion scandal and Sowore’s participation in protests by retired police officers demanding pension reforms.
The three-count charge reads:
Count One:
“That you Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters on or about the July 30 2025 within the jurisdiction of this court did conspire between yourselves to commit a felony to wit: forgery, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
“That you Omoyele Sowore and Sahara Reporters on or about the July 30, within the jurisdiction of this court, forged a police wireless message purported to have been signed by the Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector-General of Police, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 1(2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
“That you Omoyele Sowore on or about July 31 within the jurisdiction of this court, did intentionally post a fake police signal and other inciting materials on your Facebook page with the intention to incite members of the force and the general public to embark on a mutiny against the Federal Government and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 114 of the Penal Code Law.”
Speaking with journalists after the court session, counsel to Sowore, Mr Marshall Abubakar said that he would challenge the competence of the charges, describing them as frivolous and unjustified.
He said that there was no basis for his client to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty in a charge that was defective.