A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted fresh bail to activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Alliance (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, in the sum of N200 million, nearly three weeks after revoking his earlier bail over his absence from court.
Justice Muhammad Umar, who delivered the ruling on Tuesday, ordered Sowore to produce two sureties before he can enjoy the bail.
According to the court, one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second must be a property owner with landed assets within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The judge also directed the defendant to surrender his international passport to the court registrar pending the conclusion of the trial.
Following the ruling, Justice Umar released Sowore into the custody of his legal team and adjourned the case 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 alleged cybercrime linked to social media posts in which he reportedly described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal”.
The activist has consistently denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court had on June 16 revoked Sowore’s previous bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for scheduled proceedings.
Explaining his absence at the time, Sowore told the court he had a prior engagement in Lagos and requested an adjournment.
However, the prosecution, led by Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), opposed the request and urged the court to continue with the trial.
Following the revocation of his bail, Sowore challenged both the bench warrant issued against him and sought the recusal of Justice Umar from the case.
The court dismissed the application, leading to his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre while his fresh bail application was considered.
In Tuesday’s decision, Justice Umar restored the defendant’s bail but imposed fresh conditions, including the N200 million bail bond, the provision of the two specified sureties and the surrender of his passport before his release.
Speaking shortly after the ruling, Sowore maintained that the bail conditions would not discourage his activism, describing the prosecution as another attempt to suppress his movement.
“There is no bus on earth that can stop this revolution. We warned them, but they would not listen. But now, it appears a little bit of common sense is returning to them, and as a result, I was granted bail, requiring a traditional ruler, somebody with property in Abuja, and N200m and my international passport,” he said.
He added, “They have always been after the passport. So nobody can come after our movement. Nobody can stop the movement. Nobody can stop the idea whose time has come.
“What I want to tell Nigerians is that it is not about my freedom; it is about the liberation of the Nigerian people.”
