A Federal High Court in Abuja has revoked the bail of online publisher and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore and ordered his arrest after he failed to appear in court Tuesday for his ongoing criminal defamation trial.
Justice Mohammed Garba Umar issued a bench warrant directing that Sowore be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre and produced before the court on June 22, 2026, when his application for the judge's recusal is scheduled for ruling.
The Department of State Services is prosecuting Sowore on a five-count charge stemming from social media posts in which he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a "criminal."
When the DSS asked him to take down the posts, Sowore refused, insisting his comments were protected under his fundamental right to freedom of expression.
The agency subsequently filed criminal defamation charges against him.
Neither Sowore nor his lawyer appeared in court Tuesday.
A letter was reportedly sent seeking an adjournment, but the prosecution opposed it, describing Sowore's repeated absences as "delay tactics," and applied for the revocation of his bail and the issuance of an arrest warrant.
It was not the first time. Justice Umar had declined a similar request by DSS counsel Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, in December, when Sowore and his lawyer also failed to show up.
On that occasion, the judge granted Sowore bail on self-recognition rather than issuing a warrant.
The case took a sharper turn last month when the trial judge rejected Sowore's no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
Sowore's legal team responded by accusing the judge of bias and filing an application requesting his recusal from the matter — the very application now scheduled for a ruling on June 22.
Sowore's whereabouts as of Tuesday had not been officially confirmed.
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