The African Action Congress (AAC) has raised the alarm over what it called the brutal attack on its Presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, during the June 12 Democracy Day protest in Abuja, which was organised by the Take-It-Back Movement and other civil society groups across the country last Friday.

The opposition party said during the peaceful demonstration, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) sprayed an unknown aerosol-based chemical directly into Sowore’s face, causing him to collapse and temporarily lose consciousness, noting that the disturbing incident raised serious concerns about the growing use of violent and repressive tactics against opposition voices in Nigeria.

A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of AAC, Rex Elanu, said the party has observed a disturbing pattern of actions directed at Sowore since 2016, calling on the international community and democratic governments around the world to take note and act swiftly to prevent further violence against the AAC Presidential candidate.

He said: “We are reminded of the tragic case of Chuba Okadigbo, a prominent critic of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who died days after being exposed to tear gas at an opposition rally in Kano in 2003. While the circumstances surrounding his death remain a subject of public controversy, the incident stands as a grim reminder of the dangers faced by opposition figures in an atmosphere of political intolerance.

“AAC condemns Nigeria’s return to an era in which critics of those in power are intimidated, brutalised, persecuted, or eliminated.”

MEANWHILE, the Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Sowore, following his failure to appear in court as a defendant in the ongoing alleged criminal defamation suit brought against him by the DSS.

Justice Mohammed Garba Umar ordered that Sowore be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre and brought before him on the next adjourned date, June 22, 2026, for ruling on the application he filed for recusal.

The judge had granted him bail last December on self-recognition. He had at the time declined a request by counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, to issue an arrest warrant after Sowore and his lawyer failed to appear in court for trial.

However, at the resumption of the trial yesterday, neither Sowore nor his lawyer was present in court. This prompted counsel to the prosecution to apply to the court for a revocation of the bail and the issuance of a bench warrant. The prosecution described Sowore’s absence as “delay tactics”.

The DSS had filed a five-count charge against Sowore over social media posts in which he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal”. Efforts by the secret police to make him pull down the post were rebuffed by the politician, who insisted that it was within his fundamental human right to freedom of speech to post as he liked. This prompted the DSS to file criminal defamation charges against him.

Last month, the trial judge rejected Sowore’s “no-case submission,” ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him. In response, Sowore and his legal team accused the judge of bias and requested that he recuse himself.