Reactions As Justice Umar Orders Sowore’s Lawyer To Kneel Down In Court

A Federal High Court judge in Abuja, Justice Mohammed Umar has warned Marshall Abubakar, the lead defence lawyer for Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore, that he could be jailed for contempt of court.

The warning came after the lawyer raised his voice while speaking in court on Monday.

Abubakar was arguing that the date set for the defence to begin its case was not suitable for him.

The judge, clearly upset, ordered the lawyer to step out of the bar area and kneel in the courtroom.

However, other lawyers quickly stepped in and pleaded with the judge to forgive him.

The State Security Service (SSS) is prosecuting Sowore over social media posts in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”

Sowore was first charged on 5 December 2025 along with the parent companies of X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.

However, after the charges were amended, the companies were removed from the case, leaving Sowore as the only defendant. The number of charges was also reduced from five to two.

He was re-arraigned in January and again pleaded not guilty.

The tension in court on Monday began after Abubakar finished questioning the prosecution’s only witness.

The prosecution lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), then announced that the prosecution had closed its case and asked the court to direct the defence to begin theirs.

When asked when the defence would open its case, Abubakar said they planned to file a no-case submission and asked the court to adjourn until July.

The prosecution opposed this, arguing that the defence was trying to delay the case and suggesting that hearings should take place every day.

The judge noted that while the prosecution handled its case quickly, the defence had taken four days to question a single witness.

He said daily hearings were not practical but fixed 13 April for both sides to present their final written arguments on the no-case submission.

Abubakar appeared unhappy with the date.

While Sowore was speaking from the dock about how the date might affect his party’s primaries, his lawyer also began speaking at the same time, raising his voice and saying the court belonged to everyone.

“This court belongs to all of us. This court is not for some people alone. It belongs to all of us,” Abubakar yelled.

Despite the judge’s attempts to calm him, the lawyer continued shouting.

The judge then warned him again and ordered him to come forward and kneel, threatening to punish him for contempt.

“If you shout in this court again, I will commit you for contempt. In fact, come here! Come and kneel down here!” the judge said, pointed to a spot in front of the courtroom

Sensing the situation was getting worse, other lawyers, including the prosecution counsel, quickly appealed to the judge for leniency.

Justice Mohammed Umar then adjourned the case to 13 April and ended the session.