Court Grants Omoyele Sowore Fresh ₦200 Million Bail With Two Sureties, Orders Passport Deposit

• A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted Omoyele Sowore fresh ₦200 million bail after revoking his earlier release.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore fresh bail in the sum of ₦200 million, weeks after revoking his earlier bail over his failure to appear in court.

In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Muhammad Umar ordered Sowore to produce two sureties before the bail can take effect. The court said one surety must be a traditional ruler from his community, while the other must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The judge also directed Sowore to surrender his international passport to the court registrar pending the conclusion of the trial.

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.” He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.

The activist’s earlier bail was revoked on June 16 after he failed to appear for trial. Although Sowore said he was unable to attend because of a prior engagement in Lagos and requested an adjournment, the prosecution opposed the request, leading the court to issue a bench warrant and remand him at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Following Tuesday’s ruling, Justice Umar restored Sowore’s bail on fresh conditions and adjourned the case until July 6, when he is expected to open his defence.

Reacting after the ruling, Sowore insisted the bail conditions would not stop his activism.

“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,” he said.

He added, “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.”