₦airaland Forum

Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued the order on Monday, following the revocation of Sowore’s bail last week.

Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has been remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja till Wednesday.

Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued the order on Monday, following the revocation of Sowore’s bail last week.

Earlier, the court dismissed Sowore’s application seeking the recusal of the presiding judge in his trial over remarks in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”

Sowore has been standing trial on allegations brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) linked to those public statements, charges he has consistently denied.

Earlier in June, Sowore renewed calls for Justice Mohammed Umar to step down from the case, saying he was forced to represent himself after members of his legal team declined to continue appearing before the judge, citing persistent hostility and unfair treatment during proceedings.


In a post on X shortly after Monday's session, Sowore said he had personally filed a fresh recusal application, writing: "Soon after today's court hearing at the Federal High Court, where I represented myself because my lawyers had decided they could no longer appear before Justice M.G. Umar due to what they described as persistent maltreatment, I personally moved a motion asking the judge, once again, to recuse himself from the case."

DomPerignon:
Why was his bail revoked?

This is poor journalism at its peak.

Antoeni:
Justice and the willingness to be before a judge are rooted in confidence that the judge is impartial. If a litigant feels otherwise, there is nothing stopping a judge from saying, 'Go find justice somewhere else.' For a judge to insist that only he will try him, it begins to raise questions.

Antoeni:
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued the order on Monday, following the revocation of Sowore’s bail last week.

Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has been remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja till Wednesday.

Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja issued the order on Monday, following the revocation of Sowore’s bail last week.


Earlier, the court dismissed Sowore’s application seeking the recusal of the presiding judge in his trial over remarks in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”

Sowore has been standing trial on allegations brought by the Department of State Services (DSS) linked to those public statements, charges he has consistently denied.

Earlier in June, Sowore renewed calls for Justice Mohammed Umar to step down from the case, saying he was forced to represent himself after members of his legal team declined to continue appearing before the judge, citing persistent hostility and unfair treatment during proceedings.


In a post on X shortly after Monday's session, Sowore said he had personally filed a fresh recusal application, writing: "Soon after today's court hearing at the Federal High Court, where I represented myself because my lawyers had decided they could no longer appear before Justice M.G. Umar due to what they described as persistent maltreatment, I personally moved a motion asking the judge, once again, to recuse himself from the case."



https://saharareporters.com/2026/06/22/breaking-sowore-remanded-kuje-prison-court-rejects-recusal-bid-after-bail-revocation?fbclid=IwdGRjcASl9-pjbGNrBKX3M2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHuLN_OCnQRM0yQSO34gFi23inldXm0JUrcpYEh3qiwcm262mXCjxznGeNP1D_aem_zEDyAL0toZClK_qDGVGAjQ

DomPerignon:
The process of getting a judge to rescue him or herself is not based on a defendant's claims of impartiality or compromise but must be addressed to the NJC who will determine if the claim is justifiable.

If a judge has shown bias during the course of a trial, it's even to the defendant's advantage to use it as a cause to call for a mistrial.

Did Sowore's legal team notify the bench that they were withdrawing from the case and provide specific reasons that they were doing so because the judge was showing clear bias towards their client ?

Sowore is just deploying the same delay tactics used by Kanu's legal team.

But on a serious note, the President ought not to file criminal suit against anyone who slanders him personally.

If the statements were directed at the actions of the president and which is proved to be false and was intended to cause significant disaffection towards the govt and office of the President , then there are causes for prosecution along sedition and subversive grounds.

The President enjoys immunity and as such can not be personally sued while in office , so in this regard he should not be allowed to sue anyone on the grounds of personal injury to himself.

My 2 cents

JealousCobra:
Democracy and oppositions are really in trouble, the wolf is the herder of the sheeps.



Nigeria will never get it right as long as APC and tinubu are in control of affairs

CharlesCNG:
The issue is not whether President Tinubu personally sued Sowore. He enjoys constitutional immunity and cannot institute a private action in the ordinary sense. The prosecution is by the state, not by Bola Tinubu as an individual.

Nor does presidential immunity imply that one acquires a licence to accuse the occupant of the office of criminal conduct without legal consequences.

Criticising government policies is one thing.

Calling a sitting President a criminal is another.

The proper forum for proving criminality is a court of law, not a Twitter timeline.

And that, perhaps, is Sowore's tragedy.

He often behaves as though activism is a substitute for evidence and rhetoric a substitute for proof.

Democracy protects dissent.

It does not abolish accountability.

CharlesCNG:
Sowore’s problem is that he often mistakes democracy for a licence to say anything, do anything, and then shout “activism” when the law answers.

Free speech is protected, yes. But free speech is not freedom from legal consequences. In law, there is a difference between criticising a President and publicly making allegations of criminality without proving them.

More importantly, this latest remand is not simply because he criticised Tinubu. Reports say his bail was revoked after he failed to appear in court, and the court subsequently issued a bench warrant. That is basic criminal procedure. Bail is not a souvenir; it is a conditional liberty granted by the court. If the condition is breached, the court can revoke it.

Sowore is entitled to defend himself. He is entitled to challenge the charges. He is entitled to appeal any ruling he considers unfair.

But he is not above the court.

Democracy is not lawlessness wearing a human-rights T-shirt.

Activism is not immunity.

And rabble-rousing is not a legal defence.

If Sowore believes Tinubu is a criminal, let him prove it in court. If he cannot, then he should learn that public life is not a marketplace where reckless labels are thrown around without consequence.

Nobody is above criticism.

But nobody is above the law either.

Antoeni:
https://saharareporters.com/2026/06/22/breaking-sowore-remanded-kuje-prison-court-rejects-recusal-bid-after-bail-revocation?fbclid=IwdGRjcASl9-pjbGNrBKX3M2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHuLN_OCnQRM0yQSO34gFi23inldXm0JUrcpYEh3qiwcm262mXCjxznGeNP1D_aem_zEDyAL0toZClK_qDGVGAjQ