The Court of Appeal in Abuja has rejected the appeal jointly filed by Mr. Omoyele Sowore and his associate, Mr. Olawale Bakare.
The ruling was held yesterday. A three-man panel of the court endorsed the preliminary objection filed against the appeal by Mr. Aminu Alilu of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Sowore and Mr Olawale are being tried before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of treasonable felony, fraud, cyberstalking and insulting President Muhammadu Buhari.
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Justice Stephen Adah, who headed the ruling, said the court defended that the notice of appeal jointly filed by Sowore and Bakare was inadequate. He further stated that in criminal cases, appeals are personal and each defendant is expected to file an individual notice of appeal.
The court also faulted the notice of appeal based on the fact that only one of the appellants signed it even when they claimed it was a joint notice of appeal.
Moreover, on October 4, 2019, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu granted both defendants conditional bail with stringent conditions which includes restraining orders from addressing public gatherings. Sowore was also confined to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Bakare confined to his home in Osun State.
Sowore and Bakare had stated that the bail conditions were stringent which led to their appeal for restrictions to be dissolved.
Photo Credit: ChannelTV