The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted a N200 million bail to activist and presidential candidate of African Action Congress(AAC), Omoyele Sowore in his ongoing trial over alleged cybercrime charges.
Penpushing reports that Judge Mohammed Umar in a ruling delivered on Tuesday admitted Sowore to bail with two sureties, and ordered that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second must own landed property in Abuja.
The judge also directed that both sureties be verified by the prosecution and as part of the bail conditions, Sowore was ordered to deposit his international passport with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court.
Penpushing further reports that Umar subsequently released the defendant to his lawyers and adjourned the case until Monday, July 6, 2026 for him to open his defence, however, shortly after the ruling, the Take It Back Movement criticised the bail terms imposed on Sowore, describing them as “punitive, oppressive and excessive.”
The group national coordinator Juwon Sanyaolu, in a statement argued that the conditions amounted to punishment before trial and were designed to frustrate and intimidate the activist.
Penpushing also reports that the body faulted the requirement that Sowore provide two sureties, including a traditional ruler from his community and a property owner in Abuja, each in the sum of N200 million, as well as the order directing him to surrender his international passport.
The group maintained that the conditions bore “no reasonable relationship” to securing Sowore’s attendance in court and reinforced concerns that the prosecution was politically motivated rather than aimed at securing justice.
Penpushing reports that the movement recalled that Sowore had consistently appeared in court whenever required, arguing that the revocation of his bail, his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre and the fresh bail conditions raised concerns that state institutions were being used to suppress dissent.
The group called on the court to review the bail conditions in line with the constitutional principles of fairness, reasonableness and the presumption of innocence.
“No amount of intimidation, judicial harassment or state-sponsored persecution will extinguish the Nigerian people’s legitimate demand for freedom, justice, accountability and genuine democracy,” the statement added.
Penpushing further reports that the State Security Service (SSS) is prosecuting the Sahara Reporters publisher on cybercrime charges involving calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal in social media posts last year.
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