Sowore seeks reassignment of judge in Tinubu cyberbullying case, stalls defence

Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, on Tuesday failed to open his defence in the alleged cyberbullying case instituted against him over comments made about President Bola Tinubu.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, Marshall Abubakar, Sowore’s counsel informed the court that letters had been written to Justice John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, seeking a reassignment of the case to another judge.

Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly making false claims against President Tinubu.

The charges stem from posts on his X and Facebook accounts in which he allegedly referred to the president as “a criminal.”

The development followed Justice Umar’s May 8 ruling dismissing Sowore’s no-case submission. The court had held that the prosecution established a prima facie case requiring the defendant to enter his defence.

Following the ruling, Sowore and his lawyer orally requested that Justice Umar recuse himself from further handling the matter, citing alleged bias.

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However, the prosecution objected, arguing that such a request must be made through a formal application to allow for a proper response.

The court subsequently directed the defence to file the appropriate application.

When proceedings resumed on Tuesday, Abubakar told the court that both he and Sowore had separately filed petitions and supporting affidavits before the Chief Judge, requesting that the matter be reassigned.

Counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, opposed the move, arguing that the defence failed to comply with the court’s earlier directive to file a formal recusal application before the trial court.

“What they have filed is of no moment. That was not the directive of the court,” Kehinde said, urging the court not to allow the defence to dictate the pace of proceedings.

He argued that the matter had reached the stage where the defendant was expected to open his defence, adding that if Sowore had no defence to present, the prosecution should be allowed to take the necessary legal steps.

In response, Abubakar maintained that the defence acted appropriately and urged the court not to be “railroaded” into taking steps inconsistent with the administration of justice. He also asked the court to adjourn proceedings pending the Chief Judge’s decision on the petitions.

In a short ruling, Justice Umar directed the prosecution to respond to the letters addressed to the Chief Judge and adjourned the matter until June 4 pending the outcome of the defence’s petition.