BREAKING: Sowore remanded in Kuje prison after court rejects recusal request, bail revoked
Human rights activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has been remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre until Wednesday after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja rejected his latest bid to have the presiding judge step aside.
Justice Mohammed Umar ordered the remand on Monday following the earlier revocation of Sowore’s bail last week.
The ruling came after the court dismissed an application seeking the judge’s recusal in the ongoing trial linked to remarks in which Sowore described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The case, filed by the Department of State Services, stems from those public statements. Sowore has consistently denied wrongdoing.
During Monday’s proceedings, Sowore also moved a fresh recusal motion on his own after parting ways with members of his legal team. He said the lawyers withdrew due to what they described as hostility in court and an inability to continue the case under the current circumstances.
He further told the court that he had earlier written to the Chief Judge requesting reassignment of the case file, but said the request was not granted.
In a post on X after the session, Sowore said he had been left to represent himself after his legal team declined to continue.
He warned that if the judge declined to step aside, the trial would proceed under what he described as a tense atmosphere.
The courtroom has seen repeated friction between defence and prosecution, with earlier hearings marked by heated exchanges and procedural disputes.
Outside the court on Monday, supporters of the activist staged a protest demanding the restoration of his bail, which was revoked on June 16 after the court ruled that he was absent from proceedings. Sowore had earlier requested an adjournment to secure new legal representation.
The demonstrators called for the judge’s recusal, describing the bail revocation as unfair and alleging political persecution, chanting calls for his immediate release.
