Abuja: The Federal High Court in Abuja has admitted Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), to a N200 million bail with two sureties.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Umar, in his ruling on Sowore’s application for a stay of execution on the order for his bail revocation, mandated that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, and must possess a landed property in Abuja. The prosecution is required to verify the sureties, and Sowore is also ordered to deposit his international passport with the deputy chief registrar of the court.
The court has handed over Sowore, who is also the publisher of Sahara Reporters, to his lawyers and adjourned the case to July 6, allowing him to open his defense. Justice Umar previously vacated the defendant’s bail revocation order and the earlier order that remanded him in Kuje Correctional Centre.
The News Agency of Nigeria further reports that on June 22, Justice Umar ordered Sowore’s remand in Kuje Correctional Centre, pending the hearing and determination of his motion for the stay of the bail revocation order and bench warrant, which was filed by his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN. The judge dismissed an earlier application by Sowore seeking the judge’s recusal from the case on grounds of alleged bias and adjourned the matter to June 24 for the application hearing.
Following the arguments on June 24, the judge had ordered Sowore to remain in custody until today’s ruling. The bail was originally revoked on June 16 after Sowore failed to appear in court for his trial. Justice Umar had, upon an oral application by DSS lawyer Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, issued a bench warrant for Sowore’s arrest. The DSS is prosecuting Sowore for allegedly making false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as ‘a criminal’ in social media posts.