A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted Omoyele Sowore, activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), N200 million bail in his ongoing cybercrime trial.
Justice Mohammed Umar, who presided over the case on Tuesday, restored Sowore’s bail but imposed fresh conditions he must meet before regaining his freedom.
According to the court, Sowore must provide two sureties. One must be a traditional ruler from his community, while the other must own a landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The court also directed the activist to deposit his international passport with the court registrar pending the conclusion of the trial.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) over a social media post in which he allegedly described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal” on his X and Facebook accounts.
The activist has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Sowore was initially granted bail on self-recognition, but the court revoked the bail on June 16 after he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing.
Justice Umar ruled that the letter requesting an adjournment on Sowore’s behalf failed to give a satisfactory explanation for his absence and subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest.
On June 22, the court ordered that Sowore be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre while his application challenging the revocation of his bail was being heard.
The judge had also dismissed Sowore’s request that he step down from the case over allegations of bias.
With Tuesday’s ruling, Sowore will regain his freedom once he fulfils all the bail conditions set by the court.
