Sowore's Bail Revoked After Skipping Court in Tinubu 'Criminal' Post Case
Last update: June 16, 2026
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Abuja drama, again. Activist and AAC presidential hopeful Omoyele Sowore missed his own cybercrime hearing, and Justice Mohammed Umar finally lost patience.
So here's the gist. The Federal High Court in Abuja has revoked Sowore's bail and slapped a bench warrant on him for not turning up.
The case? It's the DSS versus Sowore over that August post on X and Facebook where he called President Bola Tinubu "a criminal". The security service says it was false, defamatory, and likely to cause a breach of law and order, so they charged him under the Cybercrimes Act.
Justice Umar had already told him to open his defence, with daily hearings starting from 5 June. But on the day for the recusal ruling, neither Sowore nor his lawyer showed.
According to the cbinews.tv write-up, Sowore sent a letter saying he'd travelled to Lagos to hunt for new lawyers. The court record simply notes he asked for an adjournment, and the DSS counsel wasn't having it, he asked the judge to revoke bail and bring him in by force.
Why no lawyers? Sowore told the court last week he will now represent himself, pending when he can reconstitute a team. He claimed his lawyers are "afraid to appear" because of the humiliation they suffered before this court. The Nation's court report backs that up — his team told him they were scared off after an earlier ruling.
That humiliation? It's the now-infamous kneel-down moment. Back in March, Justice Umar got fed up when counsel Marshall Abubakar raised his voice and said, "If you shout in this court again, I will commit you for contempt. In fact, come here! Come and kneel down here".
Sowore has now asked the judge twice to recuse himself for bias, citing that incident and the court's insistence on day-to-day trial. The Chief Judge already said no in May, telling Umar to carry on, but Sowore filed again.
Justice Umar had warned him before, back in March he threatened to revoke bail if Sowore missed again, saying he would issue a warrant for his "forceful production". This time, he followed through.
So where does that leave us? Sowore is meant to be defending himself on a two-count cybercrime charge, the DSS wants the posts deleted and his accounts banned, and the court wants him physically in the dock. Until he shows, that warrant stands.
Source: cbinewstv
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