By Onilede Titi Faith
The Federal High Court in Abuja was thrown into confusion on Monday after two vacation judges simultaneously handled separate cases involving human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore.
Reports indicate that the Nigeria Police filed motions before both Justice S.M. Liman and Justice Emeka Nwite, leading to parallel proceedings.
While Justice Liman in Court 3 heard an application for the release of Sowore’s passport, Justice Nwite considered a police request for substituted service of a criminal summons on Sowore’s media outlet.
Justice Liman declined to hear the passport application, describing it as insufficiently weighty for a vacation sitting. He adjourned the matter to September 4 and directed that a fresh motion be filed.
He also barred Sowore from entering the dock, noting that the case was an ex parte application.
Meanwhile, Justice Nwite granted the police permission to serve Sowore’s summons through newspaper publication, stressing that the order applied only to service of process, not the substantive case.
The conflicting proceedings, one on passport release and the other on summons delivery, have drawn scrutiny over police tactics and raised concerns about procedural irregularities at the court.
