Presiding Judge Justice Muhammad Umar issued the sudden directive on Monday, June 22, 2026, following a highly contentious legal session filled with technical back-and-forth and dramatic representation shifts.
The high-profile human rights activist will now remain under state custody as he awaits the upcoming hearing regarding a motion filed by his fresh legal representative, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), which seeks to completely overturn a prior court directive that revoked his operational bail.
The severe twist in the long-running cyberstalking case stems from a previous courtroom absence by the Sahara Reporters publisher on June 16, 2026.
During that earlier sitting, the federal prosecution team, led by Akinkolu Kehinde (SAN), capitalized on the defendant's physical absence to successfully secure a bench warrant and a total revocation of his active bail, vigorously arguing that the activist was employing deliberate delay tactics.
While the defense team had submitted a formal request seeking an immediate adjournment, the presiding judge noted that the letter failed to articulate any tangible or verifiable reason to explain why the politician was absent from the building.
When Monday's proceedings kicked off, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense as the activist stood to address his ongoing legal situation.
Justice Umar quickly moved to issue a short, definitive ruling ordering that the politician be held behind bars at the maximum-security facility until his team's fresh motion can be formally heard and evaluated by the bench.
Furthermore, the judge flatly dismissed a parallel, long-standing application pushed by the defense which demanded his immediate recusal from handling the trial based on strong allegations of judicial bias.
The active legal battle, which has now been formally adjourned until June 24 for a comprehensive hearing on the application for stay, is being prosecuted heavily by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The state security apparatus is currently putting the media publisher on trial for allegedly making false, derogatory, and inflammatory cyberstalking claims against the person of President Bola Tinubu across his public digital handles.
The federal charges explicitly assert that the activist breached cybercrime legislation by publicly referring to the Nigerian leader as "a criminal" in highly shared updates uploaded directly onto his official Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
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