Online publisher and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore on Friday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that he had been abandoned by his lawyers in the defamation trial brought against him by the Department of State Services, DSS.
Sowore, who is trained as a lawyer, appeared in court without counsel and argued an oral application seeking the recusal of trial judge Justice Mohammed Garba Umar. He alleged bias and said he doubted he could get a fair hearing before the judge.
The DSS prosecutor, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, did not oppose the recusal request but objected to a long delay for the ruling. Justice Umar initially fixed Monday, June 8 for the ruling, but later shifted it to June 15 after Sowore pleaded for more time. The court also set June 15 for Sowore to open his defence.
The development followed a ruling delivered on Thursday, June 4, in which Justice Umar rejected an application by Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, to adjourn the trial until after the court’s July vacation. The judge ordered daily hearing from June 5, with the defendant required to open his defence.
Sowore is facing prosecution over social media posts on X and Facebook in which he described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal”. The DSS said the posts contained false claims against the President.
The case was adjourned to June 15 for ruling on the recusal application and commencement of the defence.
