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 previous bail for failing to appear in court.
Justice Muhammad Umar, who delivered the ruling on Tuesday, ordered that Sowore must produce two sureties before he can regain his freedom. One of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from his community, while the other must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The court also directed Sowore to surrender his international passport to the court registrar pending the conclusion of his trial.
Following the ruling, Justice Umar handed Sowore over to 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 offences linked to social media posts in which he reportedly described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal.
The former presidential candidate has denied the allegations and entered a plea of not guilty.
The court had revoked Sowore’s earlier bail on June 16 after he failed to attend scheduled proceedings and subsequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Explaining his absence, Sowore told the court he had a prior engagement in Lagos and requested an adjournment. However, the prosecution, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Akinlolu Kehinde, opposed the application and urged the court to continue with the trial.
Following the revocation of his bail, Sowore challenged the bench warrant and requested that Justice Umar withdraw from the case. The court dismissed the application, after which he was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre while awaiting the hearing of his fresh bail request.
In restoring Sowore’s bail, Justice Umar imposed stricter conditions, including the ₦200 million bail bond, the provision of two qualified sureties, and the surrender of his international passport.
The judge ruled that the defendant must fully satisfy all the conditions before the bail becomes effective.
Speaking shortly after the ruling, Sowore described the bail conditions as another attempt by authorities to frustrate him but insisted they would not stop his activism.
According to him, no legal restrictions or government action would halt what he described as a growing movement for change.
He also said the demand for his international passport was not unexpected, adding that authorities had long sought to seize the document.
Sowore maintained that the case was bigger than his personal freedom, insisting that his focus remained on what he called the liberation of the Nigerian people.
