Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has launched a scathing attack on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that his ongoing trial over comments describing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal” is a predetermined scheme designed to send him to prison.
Addressing journalists after Monday’s proceedings before Justice M.G. Umar at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Sowore alleged that the prosecution and the court had already concluded his fate long before the trial reached its final stage.
“They have already written the judgment. They knew the outcome before this case started,” Sowore declared. “This is how they destroyed Ken Saro-Wiwa. This is how they killed M.K.O. Abiola. They used the courts. We have sacrificed too many innocent people to conspiracies within our justice system.”
The activist said the conduct of the proceedings compelled his lead counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, to openly challenge what he described as repeated judicial and prosecutorial misconduct in court.
According to him, the prosecution’s overriding objective has been to prevent his legal team from presenting a full defence.
“The prosecutor came to court insisting that the case should be foreclosed despite the court’s failure to provide crucial documents needed by the defence. From the very first day, their strategy has been simple—foreclosure, foreclosure and foreclosure,” he said.
Sowore maintained that his lawyers were fully prepared to continue the trial but insisted they could not effectively cross-examine prosecution witnesses without access to documents the prosecution was legally required to disclose.
“The law is clear. You cannot accuse someone of committing a crime and then deny that person the materials needed to defend himself,” he stated.
He further alleged that members of his legal team had repeatedly been subjected to intimidation throughout the proceedings, accusing the prosecution of falsely portraying the defence as responsible for delays in the case.
“They keep telling the court that we are employing dilatory tactics. That is false. We have consistently appeared in court ready to proceed,” he said.
In one of his most explosive allegations, Sowore claimed he had received information that an agreement had been reached between the prosecution and the trial judge to secure his imprisonment.
“They told me they had agreed with the judge to send me to prison. That was why I was previously remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre simply because I missed one court sitting,” he alleged.
The former presidential candidate also questioned the prosecution’s handling of witnesses, claiming the Director-General of the DSS, whom he expected to testify, failed to appear in court.
“The witness ran away. We even agreed they could produce any officer from the DSS, but the individual they eventually presented was someone nobody even knew,” he claimed.
He urged journalists covering the matter to witness court proceedings firsthand rather than rely on official accounts issued by the DSS.
“I encourage journalists to be inside the courtroom because what eventually gets circulated by the DSS is often completely different from what actually transpired,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with major corruption trials, Sowore argued that his case was being fast-tracked while cases involving alleged multi-billion-naira corruption had dragged on for years.
“You have corruption cases worth billions of naira that have remained in court for seven years. Yahaya Bello’s case has continued since 2023. Yet my own case is treated with unusual urgency, with a judge refusing to proceed on vacation,” he said.
Sowore praised his lead counsel for confronting what he described as repeated insults directed at the defence.
“Our lawyer is a respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria and an activist. He could no longer tolerate the repeated attacks and unfounded allegations that the defence was deliberately delaying proceedings,” he said.
Following the tense exchanges in court, Justice Mohammed G. Umar adjourned the matter until September 20, 2026, after indicating that proceedings could not continue under the prevailing circumstances.
Despite the adjournment, Sowore renewed his call for the judge to withdraw from the case.
“I am once again asking the judge to recuse himself. Let him remove his hand from this matter in the interest of justice,” he said.
Turning to national politics, Sowore criticised President Tinubu’s educational credentials, claiming the President failed to provide satisfactory academic records in documents submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He alleged that the President’s academic submissions had changed over the years and urged him to pursue further education.
“It’s not too late for him to go back to primary school, secondary school or even online education. Let serious people contest for the presidency,” he said.
Sowore also announced that the RevolutionNow Movement would stage nationwide protests on August 5, insisting that Nigerians must resist what he described as the continued destruction of the country.
“We started RevolutionNow in 2019. Today, more Nigerians understand that fundamental change is necessary. We will be on the streets across the country,” he declared.
Outlining his vision for Nigeria ahead of the next general election, the AAC presidential candidate said his administration would prioritise security, power, education, healthcare, anti-corruption, food security, agriculture, technology, infrastructure, tourism and justice sector reforms.
He reiterated his long-standing proposal for a ₦500,000 national minimum wage, arguing that anything less was inadequate for Nigerian workers under current economic realities.
“We are the only political party proposing a ₦500,000 minimum wage because nobody can survive on less in today’s Nigeria,” he said.
Sowore concluded by insisting that rebuilding public trust in the justice system, strengthening the police, improving national security and creating a technology-driven economy would form the foundation of his administration if elected president.