By Ghazali Ibrahim
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, after he failed to appear for the continuation of his trial over alleged cybercrime offences.
Justice Mohammed Umar issued the arrest warrant on Tuesday after granting an application by the Department of State Services (DSS), which is prosecuting Sowore for allegedly referring to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in social media posts.
Sowore was expected to open his defence in the two-count charge but was absent from court. In a letter sent to the court, the activist explained that he had travelled to Lagos to seek legal representation after his lawyers withdrew from the case.
Following his absence, the court revoked the bail earlier granted to him and ordered his arrest.
The activist had previously chosen to represent himself after members of his legal team reportedly withdrew from the matter.
He also filed an application asking Justice Umar to recuse himself from the case and transfer the file to the Chief Judge for reassignment.
In the application, Sowore alleged bias on the part of the judge, citing an incident in which one of his lawyers was allegedly ordered to kneel before the court. He claimed the court’s decision to conduct proceedings on a day-to-day basis, alongside what he described as the judge’s “high-handedness,” discouraged his lawyers from continuing with the case.
“My lawyers indicated to me that they are afraid to appear before you and will no longer appear because of the humiliation they suffered before this court,” Sowore stated in the application.
The activist was arraigned on December 2, 2025, in a case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The DSS accused him of violating provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, through posts he made on X and Facebook on August 25, 2025.
The posts were reactions to President Tinubu’s statement in Brazil that corruption had been eradicated under his administration. In the posts, Sowore described the president as a “criminal” and accused him of lying about corruption in Nigeria.
According to the DSS, the comments were false, capable of causing a breakdown of law and order, and damaging to the president’s reputation. The agency had earlier demanded that X and Meta remove the posts and suspend Sowore’s accounts, while also directing him to delete the content.
The charges allege that his refusal to comply with those directives led to the criminal proceedings currently before the court.
The matter is expected to continue after the execution of the court’s arrest warrant.
