By Olawale Lamina
The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to the Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress ,AAC, and an online publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, following his trial bothering on cybercrime trial and alleged criminal defamation of President Bolarin Ahmed Tinubu.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, fixed the defendant’s bail at ₦200 million and directed him to produce two sureties. One of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from his community, while the other must own landed property in the FCT, Abuja.
The court also ordered that the sureties (one of which must be a traditional ruler) provided be verified by the prosecution and directed Sowore to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court pending the conclusion of the trial.
After the ruling, the activist was released to his legal team by the judge and later adjourned proceedings until Monday, July 6, when the defence is expected to open its case.
Meanwhile, fresh update on the case has revealed that during the Tuesday’s proceedings, Sowore’s lawyer, R. O. Adakole, appealed to the court to release his client to him so that he could retrieve his passport from the United States Embassy in Lagos.
Justice Umar Mohammed subsequently adjourned the case until July 6, 2026, for the continuation of hearing.
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