A Federal High Court in Abuja has revoked the bail granted to activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, and issued a warrant for his arrest following his absence from court. Justice Mohammed Umar revoked the bail on Tuesday after Sowore and his counsel, Marshall Abubakar, failed to appear for the scheduled proceedings.
Prosecution's Argument
During the hearing, counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Kehinde Akinlolu, informed the court that Sowore was fully aware of the hearing date but did not appear. Akinlolu urged the court to revoke the defendant's bail, alleging repeated attempts to delay the trial through his absence from proceedings.
Court Ruling
In his ruling, Justice Umar noted that Sowore had written to the court seeking an adjournment but failed to provide any justification for the request. The judge consequently revoked his bail, issued a bench warrant for his arrest, and adjourned the matter until June 22 for continuation of hearing.
Sowore is currently standing trial on a two-count charge filed by the DSS. The charges arose from an August 2025 post on X in which Sowore allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” while reacting to the president's comments on corruption during a trip to Brazil. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Previous Court Developments
After the DSS closed its case, Sowore filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against him. However, in May, Justice Umar dismissed the application, ruling that the DSS had presented sufficient evidence requiring Sowore to enter his defence.
Following the ruling, Sowore openly accused the judge of bias, alleging that the court was working in collaboration with the Federal Government to secure his conviction and prevent him from contesting the 2027 presidential election. The judge subsequently directed him to file a formal application if he wished to seek the court's recusal. Sowore later approached the Chief Judge through his counsel, requesting that the matter be reassigned to another judge. On June 4, the court ordered him to open his defence.
