The Oyo State chapter of the African Action Congress has condemned the revocation of the bail granted to its presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, by the Federal High Court in Abuja, describing the decision as a politically motivated attack.
- +Oyo AAC faults revocation of Sowore’s bail
Justice Muhammad Umar of the Federal High Court had revoked Sowore’s bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after the activist failed to appear in court for the continuation of his trial over alleged cybercrime-related offences.
Justice Muhammad Umar of the Federal High Court had revoked Sowore’s bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after the activist failed to appear in court for the continuation of his trial over alleged cybercrime-related offences.
Reacting in a statement signed by the Oyo State AAC Chairman, Kayode Babayomi, and made available to PUNCH Online on Friday, the party alleged that the judge deliberately fixed the hearing for a date he knew Sowore would be unavailable.
According to the party, Sowore had appeared in court on June 15, the earlier scheduled hearing date, but the judge did not sit.
“The facts are clear: Sowore appeared in court on June 15, the date earlier set for hearing, only for the judge not to sit without notice or explanation.
“Sowore immediately wrote to the registrar requesting future dates between July 2 and July 13, as well as September, due to a scheduled trip to Lagos. Justice Umar ignored that letter and deliberately fixed the next day, June 16, after hearing that Sowore would be travelling to Lagos,” the statement read.
The AAC maintained that the court acted unfairly by revoking Sowore’s bail despite his appearance before the court the previous day.
“With Sowore unable to attend, the judge wasted no time in revoking his bail and issuing a bench warrant, despite seeing him in court the previous day in a viral video.
“This is not justice. This is persecution. This is another calculated attempt to stall the campaign of our presidential candidate and silence the biggest voice of the masses after seeing his nationwide popularity and acceptance in recent weeks,” the party added.
The AAC warned that it would resist what it described as the use of the judiciary to suppress opposition voices.
“We warn the government and the judiciary that the African Action Congress, Oyo State Chapter, alongside the Nigerian people, will resist this lawfare and persecution of Omoyele Sowore.
“Nigerians have taken to social media to solidarise with Sowore over his frequent court appearances across the country for cases instituted against him by the state and rich individuals. That solidarity will translate into resistance against any attempt to use the court as a weapon of political oppression,” the statement said.
The party also insisted that Sowore remained committed to defending himself in court.
“As much as we don’t expect justice from our courtrooms, we have decided to always take justice to them and we will never run away from the courtrooms.
“Sowore and other candidates must be allowed to contest and campaign freely,” it added.
The development followed Justice Umar’s decision to revoke Sowore’s bail after he and his counsel failed to appear in court for the continuation of his defence in the case instituted by the Department of State Services.
The judge subsequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest and adjourned the matter to June 22.
