Court Orders Sowore’s Arrest Over Absence at Cyberbullying Trial
The court also revoked his bail after he wrote saying he had travelled to Lagos to find new lawyers.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of African Action Congress (AAC) chieftain and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore after he failed to appear in court for the continuation of his cybercrime trial.
Justice Mohammed Umar issued the arrest warrant on Tuesday following Sowore’s absence from proceedings in a case filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Sowore was expected to begin presenting his defence against a two-count charge linked to social media posts he made about President Bola Tinubu. However, he did not appear in court.
In a letter sent to the court, Sowore explained that he had travelled to Lagos to seek new legal representation after his former lawyers withdrew from the case.
Following an application by the DSS, the court revoked the bail earlier granted to Sowore and ordered his arrest for failing to attend the hearing.
The development comes amid Sowore’s request that Justice Umar withdraw from the case and have it reassigned to another judge, citing concerns about the fairness of the proceedings.
He argued that an earlier incident involving one of his lawyers and the court’s decision to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis contributed to the withdrawal of his legal team.
Sowore was arraigned on December 2, 2025, and pleaded not guilty to charges brought under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The charges stem from social media posts made in August 2025 after President Tinubu reportedly claimed during a visit to Brazil that corruption had been eliminated under his administration. Prosecutors alleged that the posts amounted to cyberstalking and were capable of disturbing public peace.
The DSS said Sowore ignored requests to delete the posts despite directives sent through social media platforms X and Meta. With both companies later removed from the amended charge, Sowore remains the sole defendant as the case awaits further proceedings following the execution of the arrest warrant.
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