Court Sends Sowore To Kuje Prison After Bail Revocation

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the remand of Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

In a brief ruling delivered on Monday, Judge Mohammed Umar directed that Sowore be held at the facility pending the hearing and determination of his motion to stay the order revoking his bail and bench warrant against him.

The judge also threw out an earlier application by Sowore’s legal team seeking his recusal from the case on grounds of alleged bias, before adjourning proceedings to Wednesday, 24 June, for the hearing of the stay application.

Related: Police Shoot Sowore During Protest Rally In Abuja

Sowore’s new counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed the motion for stay.

The activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters had arrived at the court earlier alongside members of his group, who were bearing placards.

The development follows a ruling on 16 June in which Judge Umar revoked the bail he had previously granted Sowore, citing the defendant’s absence from court during his trial.

The judge simultaneously issued a bench warrant for his arrest, acting on an oral application made by prosecution lawyer Akinkolu Kehinde, also a SAN.

Sowore is being prosecuted by the State Security Service (SSS) over allegations that he made false claims against President Bola Tinubu, having referred to him as “a criminal” in posts published on his X and Facebook accounts last year.