By Deborah Nnamdi
The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted N200 million bail to the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, who is standing trial over alleged cybercrime and criminal defamation.
Delivering a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Mohammed Umar ordered Sowore to provide two sureties before he can enjoy the bail. The court ruled 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, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Akinlolu Kehinde. The court also ordered Sowore to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court pending the conclusion of the trial.
Following the ruling, the judge released the defendant to his legal team and adjourned the case until July 6, 2026, for the commencement of the defence.
The court had earlier revoked the bail previously granted to Sowore on self-recognition in December 2025 after he failed to appear for his trial. Justice Umar subsequently issued a bench warrant for his arrest and ordered his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre on June 16.
At the last sitting, the court ruled that Sowore should remain in custody pending the determination of his application seeking a stay of execution of the bail revocation and bench warrant. On Tuesday, the judge also dismissed an application by the defendant seeking his recusal from the case over allegations of bias.
During the proceedings, Sowore’s counsel, R. O. Adakole, appealed to the court to release his client to enable him retrieve his passport from the United States Embassy in Lagos.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore over allegations of cybercrime and criminal defamation, stemming from social media posts on his X and Facebook accounts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.
