A scheduled hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday in the cybercrime case involving activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, was once again stalled following the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Musa S. Liman.
Sowore, accompanied by his legal team, arrived at the courtroom by 8:45 a.m. to pursue a motion seeking the temporary release of his international passport. The case was listed as number two on the court’s docket. However, proceedings could not commence after court staff informed the parties that Justice Liman had travelled to Bauchi to handle a separate matter for which he had received a fiat.
No prior notice was given to either party or their legal representatives about the judge’s absence. A court source later told SaharaReporters that the judge’s failure to appear might be a “deliberate ploy to avoid hearing the motion,” citing a growing pattern of repeated adjournments in the matter.
This is now the third time Justice Liman has failed to sit on a scheduled hearing date for the application. On a previous occasion, the judge was said to have travelled to Lagos for a conference, resulting in another missed sitting.
As of the time of this report, no new date has been fixed for the hearing. With the Federal High Court set to begin its annual vacation on Monday, July 28, and resume on Tuesday, September 16, there are concerns that the motion may not be heard until court activities fully resume in mid-September.
The latest development adds to a string of adjournments that have plagued Sowore’s effort to retrieve his passport. On June 25, SaharaReporters reported that Justice Liman had already failed to appear twice for scheduled hearings on the matter.
At that time, sources at the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) revealed that the Nigeria Police Force had also refused to transmit the case file to AGF Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), despite repeated formal requests.
Similarly, on April 25, proceedings were again stalled due to the judge’s absence, delaying Sowore’s application to recover his travel document.
Sowore was granted bail on January 30, 2025, with a ₦10 million bond and strict conditions, including the surrender of his passport and provision of a senior civil servant as surety. In his current application, Sowore is requesting a temporary release of the document, specifying the number of days it would be needed.
The cybercrime charges against him stem from his social media posts in which he referred to the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as an “illegal IGP.” The police allege that Sowore knowingly made false statements designed to incite public unrest and damage the image of the force.
The activist was initially invited for questioning by the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja in January 2025, after he posted a video alleging extortion by officers at a checkpoint near Lagos airport. He was subsequently detained after refusing to accept the bail conditions imposed by the police, which included surrendering his passport.
The repeated delays and lack of communication surrounding court proceedings have now sparked wider concerns about judicial responsiveness and the equitable treatment of citizens, particularly in politically sensitive cases.
