Sowore Takes Over Own Defense in Abuja Court After Legal Team Pulls Out Over Alleged Judicial Humiliation in Tinubu Cyberbullying Case

The ongoing cyberbullying and criminal defamation trial of activist Omoyele Sowore took a highly dramatic turn at the Federal High Court in Abuja, as the Sahara Reporters publisher officially announced he would be representing himself after his legal team staged a boycott over alleged judicial hostility.

The unexpected legal standoff unfolded on Friday, June 5, 2026, less than 24 hours after the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, flatly denied an oral application by the defense seeking to pause proceedings until after the court’s upcoming vacation. Instead, Justice Umar had directed the prosecution to lock its lines, ordering a strict day-to-day trial manual and giving Sowore an ultimatum to open his defense immediately.

When the case was called up for hearing on Friday morning, prosecuting counsel Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN) was present, but Sowore’s lead attorney, Marshall Abubakar, was conspicuously absent. Stepping firmly into the dock, the two-time African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate explained that his lawyers had refused to return to the courtroom to avoid further mistreatment.

“Our lawyers indicated to me they are afraid before you and will not appear any longer because of the humiliation they suffered before this court,” Sowore declared with absolute candor to the judge. “Pending the time I am able to reconstitute a new legal team, I shall be representing myself before your lordship. It is my constitutional right to choose lawyers to represent me, but I will not allow my team to be continually stampeded into a predetermined outcome.”

The high-stakes trial, instituted by the Department of State Services (DSS), is centered around social media publications across Sowore’s X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts, in which he allegedly made defamatory assertions by calling President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “a criminal.” The secret police had initially arrayed tech giants Meta and X Corp alongside the publisher in a five-count charge in late 2025, before a subsequent amendment pruned the lawsuit down to a two-count cyber-offensive charge focusing strictly on Sowore.

Bypassing standard legal protocol, the self-represented activist immediately unzipped a new defensive maneuver, presenting a Motion on Notice filed on June 4, demanding that Justice Umar recuse himself from the case. Citing the fair hearing provisions under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, Sowore argued that the court’s blistering speed and refusal to allow his team adequate preparation time proved the bench had already finalized its script.

The prosecution counsel, Kehinde, heavily opposed the application, describing it as an incompetent, defective text designed solely to “annoy, irritate, and drag the business of the day backwards.” He maintained that the court was bound by its record, pointing to a May 22 directive from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, which had already rejected a previous administrative letter from Sowore seeking to reassign the case to another judge.

Despite the prosecutor’s insistence on maintaining the day-to-day trial manual, Justice Umar chose to pause the aggressive timetable to carefully audit the bulky application for his withdrawal. Reaffirming that the defensive shield of a fair hearing must be extended to the defendant, the judge adjourned the matter until June 15, 2026, to deliver a formal ruling on the recusal motion. Justice Umar noted that if the application holds merit, he will step aside from the trial entirely, a decision that could reset the entire litigation portal just as political movements begin to align ahead of the 2027 electoral calendar.