Joy Yesufu and Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday granted activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, fresh bail in the sum of N200 million, weeks after revoking his earlier bail over his failure to appear in court.
Justice Muhammad Umar ruled that Sowore must provide two sureties before the bail takes effect. One of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from his community, while the other must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory.
The court also directed the activist to surrender his international passport to the court registrar pending the conclusion of the trial.
Following the ruling, Justice Umar released Sowore to his legal team and adjourned proceedings until July 6, 2026, when he is expected to begin his defence.
Sowore is facing trial in a case filed by the Department of State Services over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media posts. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court had earlier revoked his bail on June 16 and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for proceedings.
Sowore had attributed his absence to a prior engagement in Lagos and requested an adjournment. However, the prosecution opposed the application and urged the court to continue with the trial.
After the revocation of his bail, Sowore challenged the bench warrant and sought the recusal of the trial judge, but the application was dismissed. He was subsequently remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his fresh bail request.
Reacting after Tuesday’s ruling, Sowore described the bail conditions as part of the challenges he has continued to face but maintained that they would not affect his activism.
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.”
