By Emmanuel Thomas
ABUJA — The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has officially revoked the bail granted to the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, and subsequently issued a bench warrant for his immediate arrest.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, handed down the order on Tuesday following the activist’s conspicuous absence from the scheduled court proceedings. Sowore is currently embroiled in a high-profile legal battle centered around cybercrime charges preferred against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The crux of the federal government’s case against the frontline activist stems from a controversial social media publication.
According to the prosecution, Sowore allegedly utilized his online platforms to describe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “a criminal”—an act the DSS maintains violates existing cybercrime regulations and constitutes a deliberate attempt to defame the person of the President and incite public disaffection.
The trial had already taken a dramatic turn during the last adjourned date when Sowore shocked the courtroom by announcing he would be taking over his own defense.
The AAC flagbearer claimed that his defense team had abandoned the case out of fear, stating openly before the court that his lawyers were “afraid to represent him” under the current judicial climate before Justice Umar.
Following the departure of his legal representatives, Sowore has been steering his defense pro se (representing oneself). Legal pundits have noted that while the constitution guarantees the right to self-representation, the absolute absence of a defendant during a criminal trial—without explicit permission from the bench—is a heavily penalized infraction under Nigerian criminal jurisprudence.
Before his sudden absence, the human rights activist had formally filed an application seeking the total reassignment of the case file to an entirely different judge.
Sowore vehemently accused Justice Umar of displaying deep-seated bias against his person, arguing that he could not possibly secure a fair trial under the judge’s supervision.
Consequently, Sowore demanded that Justice Umar recuse himself from the trial entirely and return the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.
However, the prosecution counsel strongly opposed the application for recusal, labeling it a textbook “delay tactic” designed to frustrate the wheel of justice and escape the weight of the law.
When the matter was called up for hearing and the defendant was nowhere to be found, the prosecution cross-examined the situation, noting that the defendant’s absence was a flagrant disrespect to the sanctity of the court.
The state argued that a defendant standing trial on criminal charges cannot dictate court schedules or willfully absent themselves while simultaneously demanding judicial favors.
Convinced by the prosecution’s arguments regarding the defendant’s erratic attendance, Justice Umar ruled that the bail conditions previously extended to the politician had been explicitly breached.
In a decisive ruling, the court invalidated Sowore’s bail bond and directed law enforcement agencies to track down, arrest, and produce the AAC presidential candidate at the next adjourned date to face the full wrath of his ongoing trial.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Omoyele Sowore nor any designated media representative from the African Action Congress has released an official statement reacting to the newly issued warrant of arrest. Security agencies are expected to act on the judicial order immediately.
