Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has informed the Federal High Court in Abuja that he will represent himself in his ongoing cyberbullying trial pending the formation of a new legal team, while also asking the presiding judge to withdraw from the case over allegations of bias.
The cyberbullying trial involving activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, took a fresh turn on Friday after he announced his decision to represent himself before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Sowore made the declaration before Justice Mohammed Umar when the matter came up for the commencement of his defence.
The court had earlier fixed the date after declining an oral request by Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, for an extended adjournment. Justice Umar had also directed that the trial proceed on a day-to-day basis.
Sowore is currently facing prosecution by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations that he made false and defamatory statements about Bola Tinubu on his social media platforms, including X and Facebook.
At Friday’s proceedings, only counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), was present in court. Sowore’s lawyer was absent.
When asked by the court about his counsel’s whereabouts, Sowore stated that his lawyers had decided not to appear because they felt intimidated and humiliated by previous proceedings before the court.
According to him, his legal team informed him they would no longer participate in the matter, prompting his decision to temporarily conduct his own defence until a new team of lawyers could be assembled.
Sowore maintained that the Constitution guarantees every defendant the right to choose legal representation and informed the court that he had filed two applications, one of which had already been served on the prosecution.
Among the applications was a motion seeking the recusal of Justice Umar from the case.
Moving the application himself, Sowore asked the court to direct the judge to withdraw from the proceedings, alleging bias and unfair treatment. He relied on provisions of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution to support his argument.
The DSS counsel opposed the application, arguing that it was incompetent and procedurally defective. He initially questioned the validity of the filing, claiming the copy served on him lacked a proper signature.
However, Justice Umar noted that the court’s copy contained the signature of Marshall Abubakar, cautioning against relying on technical objections.
Responding to the substance of the application, the prosecution described the motion as an abuse of court process intended to frustrate proceedings.
The DSS lawyer further informed the court that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had earlier directed that the matter should continue and argued that there was already a standing order requiring the defence to open its case.
According to him, failure to proceed could result in the defence being foreclosed.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Umar said he would need time to review the processes filed by the defendant before reaching a decision.
The judge subsequently fixed June 15, 2026, for ruling on the recusal application and for the continuation of the defence.
Before the adjournment, Sowore appealed for additional time to enable him secure a new legal team, also citing the upcoming Democracy Day celebrations.
Justice Umar, however, reminded him that the court had previously ordered that the matter be heard on a day-to-day basis.
Despite the request, the court maintained the June 15 date for both the ruling and further proceedings in the trial.
