The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday admitted activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, to fresh bail in the sum of ₦200 million, weeks after the court revoked his earlier bail over his absence from trial.
Justice Muhammad Umar, in a ruling, directed Sowore to provide two sureties in like sum before the bail could take effect.
The court held that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second surety must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory.
Justice Umar also ordered Sowore to deposit his international passport with the court registrar pending the determination of the case.
After granting the application, the judge handed Sowore over to his lawyers and adjourned further proceedings until Monday, July 6, when the defendant is expected to open his defence.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services on a two-count cybercrime charge over social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.”
He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025.
The charge, filed by the DSS, alleges offences under Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(a), (b), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The posts, said to have been made on August 25, 2025, were reportedly in response to President Tinubu’s claim in Brazil that his administration had ended corruption in Nigeria.
Following the posts, the DSS allegedly demanded that X Inc., formerly Twitter, and Meta Platforms Inc. remove the posts and ban Sowore’s accounts.
The security agency was also said to have written to Sowore, asking him to delete the posts from all platforms.
His alleged refusal to comply with the request led to the criminal charge.
The prosecution claims the posts were defamatory, intended to cause a breakdown of law and order, and capable of tarnishing the president’s reputation.
X Inc. and Meta were initially listed as co-defendants but were later removed from the amended charge.
Sowore was first granted bail on self-recognisance after his arraignment on December 2, 2025. However, on June 16, 2026, the court revoked the bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for continuation of trial.
Sowore had explained that he was unable to attend court because of a prior engagement in Lagos and had sought an adjournment.
The prosecution, led by Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, opposed the request and urged the court to proceed with the trial.
Following the revocation of his bail, Sowore challenged the bench warrant and also sought the recusal of the trial judge, alleging bias. The application was dismissed.
On June 22, Justice Umar ordered his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his fresh bail application.
Sowore, through his new counsel, subsequently filed a motion seeking the restoration of his bail and the setting aside of the bench warrant.
The application was brought pursuant to Sections 35(4), 36(1), and 66 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as Sections 169 and 352 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
Delivering ruling on Tuesday, Justice Umar held that he was minded to admit the defendant to bail, but imposed fresh conditions which must be fulfilled before Sowore can regain his freedom.
Reacting shortly after the ruling, Sowore described the bail conditions as part of continued attempts by the authorities to restrict him, but insisted that they would not stop his movement.
“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 ₦200m and my international passport,” he said.
“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.”
The matter was adjourned until July 6 for Sowore to open his defence.
The post Court Grants Sowore Fresh ₦200m Bail In Cybercrime Case, Orders Traditional Ruler, Abuja Property Owner As Sureties appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.
