Justice Mohammed Umar of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, ordered the detention of the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore at the Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja following the revocation of his (Sowore) bail and the bench warrant for his arrest.
The judge, in a short ruling, ordered that Sowore be remanded in Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja pending the hearing and determination of his motion for stay of the order for revocation of his bail and bench warrant slated for Wednesday, June 24.
Sowore’s motion for stay of the order revoking his bail was filed by his new lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN.
Justice Umar also dismissed Sowore’s earlier application seeking the judge’s recusal from the case on the ground of alleged bias and then adjourned the matter till June 24 for hearing of the application for stay.
The publisher of Sahara Reporters, an online media platform, who arrived the court with his bag packed told newsmen at the premises of the court that he knew that, the court will order his detention.
Sowore was accompanied to the court by some members of his group carrying placards.
The court had, on June 16, revoked a bail granted to Sowore following his failure to appear in court for his trial.
The trial judge, in a ruling on an oral application made by the lawyer to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinkolu Kehinde, SAN, also issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Sowore had filed a no case submission praying the court to discharge and acquit him from the two-count charge preferred against him by the federal government but, the trial judge held in a ruling that the federal government had successfully linked Sowore with the alleged offences and prima facie case established against him to warrant his defense in the allegations against him.
Shortly after the ruling, Sowore openly accused the Judge of bias adding that he would not get justice in the court and subsequently asked the Judge to hands off from his trial to allow another judge to conduct the trial.
He alleged that the judge was playing along with the federal government to convict him at all costs so as to prevent him from contesting the 2027 general election.
The DSS lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN who had earlier asked the Judge not to grant audience to Sowore but his counsel on record, prayed that the recusal application be discountenanced.
In the amended charge filed on December 5, 2025, Sowore was re-arraigned by the federal government on two count charges bothering on defamation of Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Count one of the charge reads, “That you, Omoyele Sowore, adult, male, on or about the 25th day of August 2025 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly or intentionally send a message by means of a computer system or network, to wit: your official “X” (formerly Twitter) handle page, @YeleSowore wherein you posted the following message/tweet: ‘This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly, which message you knew to be fake and posted for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria, posing a threat to life, or causing such message to be sent and thereby committed the offence of Cyberstalking contrary to Section 24(1) (b) and 24(2) (a), (6), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under the same section.
Count two reads, “That you Omoyele Sowore, Adult, Male, on or about the 25th day of August, 2025. within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly or intentionally send a message by means of a computer system or network, to wit: your Official Facebook handle page. @YeleSowore, wherein you posted the following message/post: “This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to state that there Is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What audacity to lie shamelessly” which message you knew to be false and posted for the purpose of causing a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria, posing a threat fo life or causing such message to be sent and thereby committed the offence of Cyberstalking contrary fo Section 241(b) and 24(2) (a), (b), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, (Amendment) Act 2024 and punishable under the some section.
Sowore had pleaded not guilty to the two count charges when read to him, prompting the DSS to call its witnesses and also tendered exhibits to establish the Cyberbullying charges.
END
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