A member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Marshall Abubakar, rejected justice Mohammed Umar order to kneel down during the trial of human rights activists, Omoyele Sowore at the Federal High Court on Monday in Abuja.
The lead defence lawyer to Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, for contempt,
drew the ire of the judge when he raised his voice while making submissions in court.
Recall the State Security Service (SSS) is prosecuting Sowore on charges of calling President Bola Tinubu a “criminal” in his posts via his X and Facebook handles.
According to Premium Times, Abubakar, raised his voice while insisting that the date chosen by the court for the defence to open its case was not convenient for him.
Umar then ordered Mr Sowore’s lawyer to “come out” of the bar area of the courtroom “and kneel down”, but other lawyers, quickly prevailed upon the judge to forgive Mr Abubakar
News Agency of Nigeria reports that Sowore was originally charged alongside the parent companies of X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook on 5 December 2025.
But a recent amendment to the charges saw X Incorp and Meta (Facebook) Incorp dropped from the case as defendants. It left Mr Sowore as the sole defendant.
The amendment also pruned down the number of counts from five to two.
With the amendment, the SSS re-arraigned Sowore on Monday, when the former presidential candidate again pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Monday’s drama started after defence lawyer, Mr Abubakar, concluded the cross-examination of the only prosecution witness.
The prosecuting lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), then announced the closure of their case and applied that the defence be called upon to open their case.
When the judge asked Mr Abubakar when they planned to open their defence, the lawyer said the defendant would make a no-case submission and suggested that the court should adjourn until a date in July.
Responding, Mr Kehinde objected and argued that it was part of the defence’s dilatory tactics intended to further delay proceedings.
He suggested that the case be heard on a daily basis.
In his intervention, the judge said that while the prosecution was swift in conducting its case, the defence was tardy, spending four days in cross-examining the prosecution’s only witness.
The judge said it was not feasible to hear the case on a daily basis, but directed parties to return on 13 April for the adoption of their final written addresses in respect of the no-case submission.
Mr Abubakar seemed uncomfortable with that date.
While Mr Sowore was addressing the judge from the dock on how the proposed date might affect his party’s upcoming primaries, his lawyer also simultaneously began addressing the judge, narrating how his client was poised to wrestle power from President Tinubu.
“This court belongs to all of us. This court is not for some people alone. It belongs to all of us,” Mr Abubakar yelled.
Attempts by the judge to make the lawyer lower his voice were unsuccessful.
The judge said, “If you shout in this court again, I will commit you for contempt. In fact, come here! Come and kneel down here!” He pointed to a spot in front of the courtroom.
On realising the unsavoury turn of events, other lawyers, led by the prosecution counsel, jumped to their feet and began to beg the judge to forgive the lawyer.
While the lawyers were still begging, the judge pronounced that the case had been adjourned until 13 April for adoption, and rose for the day.
Responding in a post on Facebook, Sowore commended the bravery of the lawyer, while calling out the NBA to rise and save the law professor from future embarrassments.
Sowore queried, “How do you expect justice in a Country where a judge orders a solid lawyer to kneel down for insisting on cross-examining a fake witness presented by the Dss?
“I am glad Barrister Marshal D. F. Abubakar stood his ground. He did not flinch”, he said. 
