Federal Court Remands Omoyele Sowore to Kuje Prison

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the remand of activist and presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore at the Kuje Correctional Centre. He will remain in custody until at least Wednesday, June 24, when the court is scheduled to hear an application seeking to halt the enforcement of an earlier order revoking his bail.

Justice Mohammed Umar issued the remand order after dismissing a motion from Sowore requesting the judge recuse himself from the case over allegations of bias. The judge also rejected a prior request for him to step away. Sowore, who is the presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of Sahara Reporters, represented himself in court after his legal team withdrew from the case. He stated his lawyers declined to continue appearing before Justice Umar, citing what they described as persistent maltreatment and unfair treatment.

The proceedings stem from charges filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), which is prosecuting Sowore for allegedly making false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as a criminal in posts on social media platforms X and Facebook. Sowore has consistently denied the allegations.