By SCM Judiciary Correspondent
ABUJA — The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday granted fresh bail in the sum of N200 million to human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, admitted the Sahara Reporters publisher to bail with two sureties in like sum, introducing stringent conditions that require a royal father to stand for him.
Delivering his ruling on an application for a stay of execution filed by the defence, Justice Umar directed that one of the sureties must be a first-class traditional ruler from Mr. Sowore’s home community in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The second surety, according to the court, must be a property owner with verified landed assets within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Furthermore, the court ordered both sureties to be strictly verified by the prosecution counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN. As part of the bail terms, Mr. Sowore is required to surrender his international passport to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court for safekeeping.
The ruling effectively sets aside the court’s previous order remanding the activist at the Kuje Correctional Centre, restoring his liberty pending the determination of the substantive suit.
Discretion and Court Attendance
In reaching the decision, Justice Umar noted that the court chose to exercise its judicial discretion in favour of the defendant. The judge took judicial notice of Mr. Sowore’s manifest willingness to stand trial, pointing out that the activist did not wait to be tracked down or arrested by law enforcement agents before presenting himself in court.
However, a mild logistical hitch arose during the proceedings regarding the location of the defendant’s travel documents. Counsel to Mr. Sowore, R.O. Adakole, holding the brief of Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, informed the court that the activist’s international passport is currently with the United States Embassy in Lagos.
Adakole explained that the defendant would need to appear in person at the embassy to retrieve the passport before it could be formally submitted to the court registrar. Consequently, the defence team prayed the court to release Sowore into their custody to enable them to facilitate the quick fulfillment of the stringent bail conditions.
Justice Umar subsequently released the defendant to his legal team and adjourned the matter until Monday, July 6, 2026, for the definite continuation of the trial, where Sowore is expected to open his defence.
The high-profile legal battle stems from a two-count charge bordering on cybercrime and criminal defamation instituted against Sowore by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The intelligence agency is prosecuting the activist over social media posts made on his official X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook accounts, in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.”
Sowore was initially arraigned in December 2025, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail on self-recognition by Justice Umar. The trial advanced steadily until the prosecution closed its case, prompting the defence to file a “no-case submission.”
The court, however, dismissed the application, ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case sufficient to warrant the activist entering a defense.
The case took a dramatic turn on June 16, 2026, when Justice Umar revoked Sowore’s initial self-recognition bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest following his failure to appear for a scheduled trial session.
While the defence argued that Sowore’s absence was due to an unavoidable engagement in Lagos and sought an adjournment, the prosecution vehemently opposed the request, accusing the defendant of trying to frustrate the wheels of justice.
Following his appearance at the subsequent court date on June 23, Sowore was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending the hearing and determination of his application to set aside the bench warrant.
Reactions Trail Bail Conditions
Meanwhile, the fresh bail conditions have sparked mixed reactions within Nigeria’s civil society space.
Shortly after the ruling, the Take It Back Movement issued a strongly-worded statement criticizing the N200 million bail and the traditional ruler requirement, describing the terms as “punitive, oppressive, and excessive.”
The group’s National Coordinator, Juwon Sanyaolu, argued that demanding a first-class traditional ruler and multi-million naira Abuja property assets bears no reasonable relationship to ensuring court attendance, alleging that the conditions are aimed at suppressing dissent.
With the matter now adjourned to July 6, public and legal attention shifts to whether Sowore’s legal team can perfect the conditions before the trial resumes.
