Nigeria’s Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, admitted activist, publisher, and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, to fresh bail in the sum of N200 million, weeks after revoking his earlier bail over his failure to appear for trial.
Justice Umar, in a ruling, directed Sowore to provide two sureties. One of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from his community, while the second must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory.
He also ordered the defendant to deposit his international passport with the court registrar pending the determination of the case.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) on allegations bordering on cybercrime, following social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.” He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Justice Umar revoked Sowore’s bail on June 16 and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to attend proceedings.
But, Sowore had explained that he was unable to appear because of a prior engagement in Lagos and sought an adjournment, but the prosecution, led by Akinlolu Kehinde SAN, opposed the request, urging the court to proceed with the trial.
Following the revocation of his bail, Sowore challenged the bench warrant and sought the trial judge’s recusal.
His application was dismissed, after which he was remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his fresh bail application.
Delivering Tuesday’s ruling, Justice Umar restored the defendant’s bail on fresh terms, requiring him to meet the N200 million bail bond and fulfil the conditions attached before regaining his freedom.
Reacting shortly after the ruling, Sowore described the bail conditions as part of the authorities’ continued efforts against him but insisted they would not deter his movement.
He said, “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.
“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.”