Court Grants Sowore Fresh #200 million Bail, Orders Him to Open Defence July 6
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted a fresh bail of N200 million to the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, in his ongoing trial over alleged criminal defamation and cybercrime charges.
Delivering a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Mohammed Umar admitted Sowore to bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties.
The court ordered that 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 must own landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Justice Umar further directed that both sureties be verified by the prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), and ordered Sowore to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Registrar of the court pending the determination of the case.
Following the ruling, Sowore’s counsel, R. O. Adakole, appealed to the court to release his client to enable him retrieve his international passport from the United States Embassy in Lagos. The application was granted by the court.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until July 6, 2026, for the defendant to open his defence.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over allegations of criminal defamation arising from posts on his official X and Facebook accounts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”
The fresh bail followed the revocation of Sowore’s earlier bail on self recognition by the court on June 16 after he failed to appear for his trial. The court also issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
When he appeared before the court on June 24, Justice Umar ordered that he be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of his application seeking a stay of execution of the order revoking his bail and the bench warrant issued against him.
The court also dismissed an application by the defence requesting Justice Umar to recuse himself from the case over allegations of bias.
The trial is expected to continue on July 6 when Sowore is scheduled to begin presenting his defence.