BREAKING: Federal High Court Judge Liman Again Refuses To Hear Sowore’s Passport Release Case

A judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice M. S. Liman, on Thursday again declined to hear a motion seeking the release of the passport of activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.

The motion, filed several months ago, has remained stalled despite repeated attempts by Sowore’s legal team to secure a ruling. Justice Liman insisted that the matter could only proceed if Sowore’s lawyers filed an ex parte motion, a position his counsel strongly rejected.

Sowore’s lawyers, Marshal Abubakar and A. K. Musa, argued that the case was properly before Justice Liman, having been assigned to him by the Chief Judge.

They accused the judge of deliberately stalling proceedings, pointing to a ruling by another vacation judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, who had previously entertained arguments on the same matter.

According to the defence team, Justice Liman’s reliance on the requirement of an ex parte motion was misplaced, as such provisions apply only to civil cases instituted during court vacation and not to criminal proceedings.

Despite their arguments, the judge maintained his stance, insisting that he would not change his position.

Lawyers told SaharaReporters that the ex parte order Justice Liman relied on applies solely to civil cases filed during vacation, not to criminal matters. They described his conduct as prejudicial, alleging bias against Sowore since the case was first brought before him.

Frustrated by the repeated delays, Abubakar told the court he would seek a transfer of the matter to another judge, citing Liman’s alleged bias since the case stems from charges filed by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who accused Sowore of committing cybercrime by repeatedly describing him as an “illegal IGP.”

On July 21, SaharaReporters reported that Justice Liman failed to appear in court to hear a motion seeking the release of Sowore's passport in the cybercrime case involving the IGP, Egbetokun.

Sowore, who arrived at the court with his legal team by 8:45 a.m., discovered that his case was listed as number two on the court's docket.

However, after waiting for the judge to arrive, court staff later informed him that Justice Liman had travelled to Bauchi to handle a matter for which he had received a fiat.

SaharaReporters learnt that no prior notice was given to either party or their legal representatives regarding the judge’s absence.

A source later told SaharaReporters that the judge’s absence was a “deliberate ploy to avoid hearing the motion”.

It was the third time the judge had scheduled a hearing on Sowore’s motion, only to be absent on the date of the proceedings. On a previous occasion, Justice Liman was said to be attending a conference in Lagos.

Previous Disappearing Act

On June 25, SaharaReporters reported that Liman had failed to appear in court on two occasions, especially to attend sessions scheduled to hear a fresh application for the release of Sowore’s passport, which the court had seized.

At the time, sources at the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) told SaharaReporters that the police had repeatedly refused to hand over the case file to AGF Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), despite several formal requests.

The hearing expected to consider Sowore’s application for the temporary release of his passport was stalled on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, as the judge was absent for the second time.

Similarly, on April 25, SaharaReporters reported that Justice Liman’s absence had stalled proceedings in Sowore’s case to recover his passport.

Background

Sowore, who was granted bail on January 30, 2025, with a bond of N10 million and other conditions, including the surrender of his passport, had petitioned the court to release the document temporarily, specifying the number of days he would require it.

The police invited Sowore in January 2025 after he posted a video on social media accusing police officers of extorting motorists at a checkpoint near Lagos airport.

He honoured the invitation to the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja but was subsequently detained when he refused the bail conditions, which included surrendering his passport and providing a senior civil servant as surety.

The police alleged that Sowore knowingly made false statements intended to incite public unrest and damage the reputation of the police force.