COURT ADJOURNS POLICE SUIT AGAINST SOWORE, OTHERS TO NOVEMBER 5

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The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the hearing of a suit filed by the Nigeria Police Force against human rights activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, and others involved in the “#FreeNnamdiKanuNow” protest to November 5, 2025.

The matter, which was slated for hearing on Wednesday, could not proceed as the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, was reportedly away on official duty at the court’s Enugu Division.

The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2202/2025, lists Sowore, Sahara Reporters Limited, and Sahara Reporters Media Foundation as the first to third respondents. The Take It Back (TIB) Movement and “Unknown Persons” were also named as co-respondents in the suit.

The police had, on October 17, obtained an interim order from the same court restraining Sowore and the other respondents from staging protests at sensitive locations in Abuja, including the Presidential Villa (Aso Rock), National Assembly, Force Headquarters, Court of Appeal, Eagle Square, and Shehu Shagari Way. The order is to remain in effect pending the hearing of the substantive motion.

In an affidavit supporting the motion, a police officer attached to the Directorate of Legal Services at the Force Headquarters claimed that the planned protest could pose a threat to national security.

Sowore, a former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has been a vocal critic of government policies and a frequent organiser of civil protests.

The court is now expected to resume hearing on November 5, 2025, when both parties will present their arguments before Justice Umar.