Court remands Sowore to Kuje prison over alleged cybercrime

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore be remanded to the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Sowore will remain in custody until Wednesday, when the court will resume proceedings on a two‑count cybercrime charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS). The charge alleges that he called President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” in a social media post.

The remand followed the court’s earlier decision to revoke the bail that had been granted to Sowore.

Trial Justice Mohammed Umar, in a ruling on June 16, revoked the bail and issued a warrant of arrest against the defendant. The arrest order was issued after Sowore, who was scheduled to present his defence, failed to appear before the court to continue his trial.

Prior to the arrest, Sowore had chosen to represent himself after his legal team withdrew from the case.

In a separate ruling on Monday, Justice Umar dismissed a motion that sought to disqualify Sowore from conducting the trial on the grounds of alleged bias.