Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday revoked the bail granted to human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for the continuation of his cybercrime trial.
Justice Mohammed Umar revoked the bail following an oral application by the prosecution counsel, Kehinde Akinlolu, SAN, who argued that Sowore was absent from court despite being aware of the scheduled hearing. According to the prosecution, the activist had persistently sought to delay the trial and had failed to provide any convincing justification for his absence.
The court was informed that Sowore had sent a letter seeking an adjournment, but the judge observed that the letter did not state any reason for the request. Justice Umar held that the absence of any explanation was not sufficient to justify Sowore's failure to appear, and subsequently revoked the bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest. The case was adjourned to June 22, 2026, for further hearing.
Sowore is facing a two-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) over a social media post in which he referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a "criminal". The post, dated August 25, 2025, was made in response to the President's comments during a visit to Brazil. The DSS alleged that the statement violated provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024. Sowore pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on December 2, 2025.
The activist had earlier filed an application seeking the recusal of Justice Umar from the case, alleging bias. The matter had been fixed for June 15, 2026, for a ruling on that application, but proceedings did not hold because the judge was unavailable. Sowore stated that he had appeared in court on June 15 and remained on the premises until about noon, when he was informed that the court would not sit. He subsequently sent a letter requesting that the ruling be rescheduled for July or September.
At Tuesday's sitting, however, the prosecution opposed the request and urged the court to revoke the bail. Justice Umar ruled that the defendant's failure to honour the court's directive to appear on June 16 amounted to a violation of the conditions attached to his bail. The judge further noted that the defendant had not provided any reason for seeking an adjournment, which he said was insufficient to justify the request.
In a post on his Facebook page, Sowore alleged that the judge revoked his bail despite his appearance in court on the previous day. He stated that the agenda for Tuesday's proceedings was to consider his application for recusal, but instead, the judge opted to revoke his bail. "It has been brought to my notice that the judge presiding over my case concerning 'Tinubu is a criminal' has revoked my bail, despite my presence in court yesterday, when the judge was not in attendance," Sowore wrote. He vowed to challenge the decision, stating, "The struggle continues!"
The ruling effectively authorises security agencies to arrest the activist and produce him before the court to continue trial proceedings. The case is expected to resume once the arrest warrant is executed.
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