Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the remand of human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, at the Kuje Correctional Centre until Wednesday.
The ruling followed the court’s decision last week to revoke Sowore’s bail.
Before issuing the remand order, the court dismissed an application filed by Sowore seeking the recusal of Justice Umar from the case. The activist had requested that the judge step aside from proceedings relating to charges arising from remarks in which he described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”
Sowore is facing prosecution by the Department of State Services (DSS) over those statements, allegations he has repeatedly denied.
Earlier this month, the activist renewed his demand for Justice Umar to withdraw from the case, claiming he had been compelled to represent himself after members of his legal team stopped appearing before the court.
According to Sowore, his lawyers cited what they described as continued hostility and unfair treatment during proceedings as the reason for their decision.
Reacting after Monday’s court session, Sowore disclosed in a post on X that he had personally presented another application asking the judge 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 wrote.
