Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, on Friday said he was forced to represent himself before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He said this happened after his legal team declined to appear before Justice M.G. Umar, citing what they described as alleged persistent maltreatment by the judge.
Sowore disclosed this shortly after proceedings in the ongoing trial over alleged cyberbullying and criminal defamation-related offences arising from social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
In a statement issued after the hearing, Sowore said, “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.”
The case stems from charges filed by the Federal Government through the Department of State Services, accusing Sowore of cyberbullying and making allegedly defamatory statements about Tinubu on his X and Facebook accounts.
According to the prosecution, the activist described the President as a “criminal” in posts published on the social media platforms, which the government claimed were capable of causing public disorder.
The DSS initially filed charges against Sowore while also naming Meta Platforms Inc. and X Corp. because the posts were published on their platforms.
However, the Federal Government later amended the charge and dropped Meta and X from the suit, leaving Sowore as the sole defendant in the case.
He was subsequently re-arraigned before Justice Mohammed Umar and pleaded not guilty to the amended charges.
In May, Justice Umar dismissed a no-case submission filed by Sowore and held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring him to open his defence. The court consequently ordered the activist to enter his defence against the allegations.
On Thursday, the judge rejected a request by Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, to adjourn further hearing in the case until after the court’s vacation.
He then ordered daily hearing in the matter from Friday and directed the defendant to open his defence.
According to Sowore, the matter has now been adjourned until June 15, 2026, for the continuation of proceedings.
The trial has continued to attract attention from civil rights advocates and political observers, who view the case as one of the most prominent tests of free speech and the application of Nigeria’s cybercrime laws in relation to criticism of public officials.
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