A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, fresh bail in the sum of N200 million, weeks after revoking his earlier bail due to his failure to appear in court for trial.
Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, Justice Muhammad Umar ordered that Sowore must produce two sureties before the bail can take effect.
The court ruled that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Justice Umar also directed the defendant to surrender his international passport to the court registrar pending the conclusion of the trial.
Following the ruling, the judge released Sowore into the custody of his legal team and adjourned the matter until Monday, July 6, when the defendant is expected to begin presenting his defence.
Sowore is facing prosecution by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations of cybercrime arising from social media posts in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.”
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court had earlier revoked Sowore’s bail on June 16 and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for trial.
Sowore had explained that his absence was due to a prior engagement in Lagos and requested an adjournment. However, the prosecution, led by Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), opposed the request and urged the court to proceed with the trial.
Following the revocation of his bail, Sowore challenged the bench warrant and also requested that the trial judge recuse himself from the case.
The application was dismissed, after which he was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his fresh bail application.
In Tuesday’s decision, Justice Umar restored the defendant’s bail on new terms, requiring him to meet the N200 million bail bond and satisfy all attached conditions before regaining his freedom.
Reacting after the ruling, Sowore described the bail conditions as part of what he called continued efforts by the authorities to target him, but insisted they would not stop his movement.
“There is no force on earth that can stop this revolution. We warned them, but they would not listen. Now, it appears a little common sense is returning, and as a result, I have been granted bail with conditions requiring a traditional ruler, someone with property in Abuja, a N200 million bond, and the surrender of my international passport.
“They have always been after the passport. But nobody can stop our movement. Nobody can stop an idea whose time has come.
“What I want Nigerians to understand is that this is not about my personal freedom; it is about the liberation of the Nigerian people,” he said.
ADEOLA KUNLE
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