The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted a N200 million bail to Activist and presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, after an approval of his application and outlined new conditions for his release.
As part of the ruling, the court directed Sowore to provide two sureties in the same amount and comply with additional requirements before the bail can take effect, stating that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community, while the second must be a property owner with landed assets within the Federal Capital Territory.
Justice Mohammed Umar delivered the decision on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, stressing that all bail conditions must be satisfied before the fresh bail becomes effective and also directed the activist to surrender his international passport to the court’s Deputy Registrar pending the conclusion of the ongoing trial.
Explaining the decision, Umar said that the court was convinced by Sowore’s conduct and readiness to submit himself to the judicial process, as well as stating that the court is persuaded by the defendant’s willingness to face trial, particularly his decision to appear voluntarily instead of waiting to be arrested.
However, Sowore’s defence counsel informed the court that his passport was currently in the custody of the United States Embassy and would need to be retrieved before it could be deposited as ordered.
Lawyers representing the defendant also requested that he be released to allow him to fulfil the bail conditions, a request that was granted by the court.
The Guild reports that the ruling followed the revocation of Sowore’s earlier bail after he failed to appear for trial in a previous sitting.