A fresh twist has emerged in the legal battle involving activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, as a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre after dismissing his application seeking the recusal of the trial judge.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Mohammed Umar, marks another dramatic development in the high-profile case, which has been marked by allegations of judicial bias, courtroom disagreements, and disputes over legal representation.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over comments he allegedly made about President Bola Tinubu. He was taken into custody after the court rejected his request for Justice Umar to withdraw from the case.
The activist argued that recent developments in the proceedings had raised concerns about the court’s impartiality and undermined his confidence in receiving a fair trial.
Monday’s hearing took an unusual turn as Sowore represented himself following the withdrawal of members of his legal team from the case.
According to Sowore, his lawyers decided to discontinue their appearance because of what they described as persistent hostility during court proceedings.
In a statement issued after the hearing, he said he personally filed and argued a fresh application asking Justice Umar to recuse himself.
“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,” he stated.
Sowore also disclosed that an earlier attempt to have the matter reassigned to another court had been unsuccessful, leaving him to conduct his own defence after his legal team withdrew.
Despite his arguments, the court dismissed the application and ordered that he remain in custody pending the next hearing.
The remand order comes days after the court revoked Sowore’s bail over his absence during proceedings, a decision that has continued to spark reactions from his supporters.
Outside the court premises, dozens of supporters staged a protest, demanding his immediate release and condemning the decision to return him to custody.
The protesters accused authorities of attempting to silence dissenting voices and called for a fair and transparent trial.
With the court refusing to grant his request and Sowore maintaining his challenge to the process, the case is set to resume on Wednesday for what is expected to be another crucial hearing.