The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to online publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, with fresh conditions attached to his release.
Justice Umar Mohammed, who granted the bail on Tuesday, ordered Sowore to provide two sureties, each of whom must sign a N200 million bail bond.
According to the court, one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, while the second surety must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The court further directed Sowore to surrender his international passport to the deputy registrar of the court for safekeeping. It added that the two sureties must be verified by the prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN.
The latest ruling followed the court’s earlier decision to revoke the bail granted to Sowore on self-recognition in December 2025 after he failed to appear for his trial on June 16, 2026. The court subsequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
Sowore had been ordered to remain at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his application seeking a stay of execution of the order revoking his bail and the bench warrant.
The judge also dismissed Sowore’s application requesting that he withdraws from the case over allegations of bias.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over allegations of criminal defamation linked to comments in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in posts shared on his official X and Facebook accounts.
Sowore’s lawyer, Raphael Adakole, had appealed to the court for his client’s release to enable him retrieve his passport from the United States embassy in Lagos.
Justice Mohammed adjourned the matter until July 6, 2026, for continuation of hearing.
