The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, restored the bail earlier granted to online publisher and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore but with strict conditions .
Besides a N200 million bail bond by each of two sureties, the Court ruled that one of them must be a traditional ruler in Sowore’s community in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Additionally, the Court ordered that the second surety must have landed property within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while Sowore is to surrender his international passport to the court’s Deputy Registrar for safekeeping.
However, the court held that both sureties must be verified by counsel to the prosecution, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN).
This is as the Judge also dismissed Sowore’s other application that the judge be withdrawn from further presiding over his trial on the ground of alleged bias.
Following Sowore’s absence in court for his trial on allegations bordering on cybercrime and criminal defamation, the trial judge, Justice Muhammed Umar, who had earlier granted the defendant bail on “self-recognition” last December, revoked the bail and issued a warrant for his arrest on June 16, 2026.
The order came even though Sowore had written a letter to the Court explaining his absence and requesting a new date for the trial
Consequently, when proceedings resumed in the case on June 22, Justice Umar ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his motion for a stay of the execution of the bail revocation order and bench warrant.
Dissatisfied with the actions the court took against him, Sowore, whose legal team had initially withdrawn from the case over alleged bias by the judge, secured a new lawyer, who promptly filed a motion to restore his bail and quash the arrest warrant.
In the application, Sowore cited 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 (ACJA) 2015, insisting that the orders the Court made against him were unjust and unwarranted.
However, when the case came up on Tuesday, Justice Umar held that he was minded to admit the defendant to bail but listed some conditions that should be met before Sowore would be released from prison custody.
The defendant’s lawyer, R. O. Adakole, however, appealed to the judge that Sowore be released to him so that he can get his passport from the US embassy in Lagos.
Justice Umar Mohammed adjourned to July 6, 2026, for continuation of the case.
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting Sowore on a two-count cybercrime charge of alleged criminal defamation arising from claims that he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in posts made on his official X and Facebook accounts.
The defendant had, on December 2, 2025, pleaded not guilty to the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The charges allege offences under Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(a), (b), and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The offending posts, made on August 25, 2025, were in response to President Tinubu’s claim, made in Brazil, that his administration had ended corruption in Nigeria.
Angered by the posts, the DSS demanded that X Inc. (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc. ban Sowore’s accounts and remove the posts.
The security agency also wrote to Sowore, asking him to delete the posts from all platforms. But non-compliance with the request led to the charges.
The prosecution claims the defamatory posts were intended to cause a breakdown of law and order and to tarnish the President’s reputation.
According documents cited in Court, exhibits presented against the defendant include printouts of the posts and the DSS letters.
Initially, X Inc. and Meta were co-defendants but were later delisted by the DSS in the amended charge.
