A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, in the sum of ₦10 million with one surety in like sum.
Justice Musa Liman, who presided over the case, ruled that the surety must be a responsible individual with landed property of equal value. The surety is also required to submit:
The original documents of the property, a passport photograph to the court registrar. The judge ordered Sowore to deposit his international passport with the court and mandated that he meet the bail conditions within 24 hours or risk being remanded in police custody.
The bail ruling follows 17 counts of cybercrime charges brought against Sowore by the Nigerian Police, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The charges stem from an alleged tweet by Sowore, in which he referred to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as the “illegal IGP.”
The police claimed that the statement was false and intended to incite public disorder. Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, had urged the court to grant lenient bail conditions, arguing that his client posed no flight risk and had always made himself available for legal proceedings.
