By SCM Judicial Correspondent
ABUJA — A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday ordered that the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, be remanded at the Kuje Custodial Centre.
The decision follows the formal enforcement of a bench warrant and the revocation of the political activist’s bail, which was ordered by the court last week due to his non-appearance for his scheduled trial.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, ordered the remand after dismissing a separate, highly contentious application filed by Sowore.
The AAC flagbearer had sought an order directing the trial judge to recuse himself from the case on allegations of deep-seated bias.
Sowore, who is also the publisher of the online investigative news platform Sahara Reporters, is being aggressively prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
The secret police slapped cybercrime charges against him following an August 2025 social media publication where he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.”
During the resumed proceedings on Monday, the courtroom was packed with civil society activists and security operatives. Sowore’s attempt to have the matter transferred to the Chief Judge for re-assignment to an alternative regulatory hand fell through.
Ruling on the application, Justice Umar maintained that the defence had failed to provide substantial or cogent evidence of prejudice to warrant a recusal. The judge held that the court was bound by its record and administrative directives from the Chief Judge instructing that the trial proceed.
Following the dismissal of the bias application, the prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), pressed the court to enforce the consequences of the revoked bail.
Consequently, the court ordered that Sowore remain in prison custody until the next adjourned date when he is expected to enter his formal defence.
The high-profile legal standoff began unfolding late last year when the DSS arraigned Sowore on an amended five-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025.
The criminal charges center strictly on provisions of Section 24 of the newly amended Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention and Amendment) Act.
According to the details of the charge sheet, the activist allegedly targeted President Bola Tinubu on August 25, 2025, via posts shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts.
The post read:
”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.”
The DSS contended that the digital broadcast was intentionally malicious, false, and dangerously capable of inciting public hatred or instigating a total breakdown of law and order across Nigeria. Arraigned on December 5, 2025, Sowore resolutely pleaded not guilty to all counts.
At his initial arraignment, Justice Umar had extended a measure of judicial leniency, granting the two-time presidential candidate bail on self-recognition, particularly because his international passport was already in the custody of the judiciary from a previous political trial.
However, the court strongly warned that the bail conditions would be instantly nullified if the politician engaged in further public commentaries deemed threatening to national security.
The friction between the court and the defendant reached a boiling point in May 2026, when Justice Umar summarily dismissed a “no-case submission” filed by Sowore’s legal team.
The court ruled that the prosecution’s witnesses and electronic exhibits had successfully established a prima facie case, legally requiring the publisher to present a defense.
Infuriated by the ruling, Sowore’s legal team accused the court of judicial bias and moved for a recusal, leading to consecutive walkouts and a declaration by Sowore that his lawyers were “too humiliated” to continue under the current configuration, forcing him to briefly represent himself.
The immediate catalyst for Monday’s remand, however, occurred on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, when neither Sowore nor his legal representative appeared in court.
While the defence submitted a letter explaining the absence, the prosecution successfully argued it was a calculated “delay tactic,” prompting the judge to revoke his bail—a sequence that has culminated in the activist’s current detention at the Kuje maximum-security facility.
Sowore