Sowore granted ₦200 million bail, ordered to deposit international passport

Omoyele Sowore, an African Action Congress (AAC) presidential aspirant and human rights campaigner, was freed on ₦200 million bail by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

In handing down the judgement on Monday, the court ordered Sowore to produce two sureties in the same amount and to surrender his international passport in line with the bail terms.

Furthermore, the court mandated one of the sureties to be a traditional ruler hailing from Sowore’s hometown, while the other surety must have a landed property in Abuja.

Since June 22, 2026, when the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested Sowore and remanded him in their custody on remand order issued by Justice Mohammed Umar in connection with comments that branded the president Bola Tinubu as a criminal.

This judgment followed a day marked with increased security presence at the Federal High Court, where operatives from the DSS and Nigerian Correctional Service secured the premises.

Prior to the hearing process, the journalists could not gain entry into the court since there were armed security guards blocking their way into the court even after being told earlier that the media would have access to the court.

Some of the journalists have shown dissatisfaction about this issue as they were forced to wait outside the court for the hearing to begin inside the court.

This case has been making waves in public opinion due to the concerns raised by some rights groups regarding the detention of Sowore.