Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court Abuja, has adjourned until June 15th, for ruling on the application filed by the presidential candidate of the Action Alliance Congress, Omoyele Sowore, seeking the judge to recuse himself from his trial.
At the day’s hearing, Sowore told the court that he will represent himself, pending the time he is able to find a new lawyer or reconstitute his legal team.
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He told the court that his lawyers said they are afraid to appear before the court to defend him because of the humiliation they suffered before this court.
He subsequently moved two applications he had filed and served on the prosecution, seeking an order of the court for the judge to recuse himself on grounds of bias, and the other for referral of the case to the Chief Judge for re-assignment to another judge.
The prosecuting counsel, Kehinde Akinlolu, argued that the application is an abuse of court process and is meant to irritate the court.
He noted that the court is bound by its record, where the letter written by the chief judge directed that the matter should proceed.
He urged the court to dismiss the application in its entirety and disregard the tantrums being brought forward by the defendant and his lawyers.
In a short ruling, Justice Mohammed Umar held that he will have to go through the processes filed by Sowore to rule on the application, and subsequently adjourned the case to June 15, 2026.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly making false claims against President Bola Tinubu by calling him “a criminal” in posts he made on his “X” and Facebook accounts.
