Court Postpones Sowore’s Bail Ruling To Thursday

Omoyele Sowore, a former presidential candidate and activist, has had his bail application postponed until Thursday by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Sowore is facing 17 counts of cybercrime charges brought against him by the Nigerian Police Force.

Justice Musa Liman made the decision after hearing arguments from Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, and the prosecution counsel, Udey Jonathan.

READ ALSO: Sowore Denies Cybercrime Charges, Seeks Bail

Earlier, Sowore pleaded not guilty to all charges when they were read to him.

According to the charges, the activist allegedly used his verified X handle, ‘Omoyele Sowore,’ to post a tweet referring to the Inspector General of Police as “illegal IGP Kayode Egbetokun.” The police claim the statement is false and intended to incite public disorder.

Justice Liman had initially scheduled the bail ruling for 3 p.m. but stood down the matter in the morning.

At the resumed hearing, Sowore’s counsel, Marshall Abubakar, urged the court to grant bail on the most lenient terms.

“We have a motion on notice filed today, January 29, 2025,” Abubakar stated. “I ask you, my noble lord, to release the applicant on bail in the most liberal terms possible, pending the hearing and determination of the trial. The applicant has also filed a 16-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Sunday Agabi, and we rely on the arguments within. We urge your lordship to grant our application.”

Abubakar further argued that the court has the discretion to grant bail regardless of the complainant’s arguments.

However, prosecution counsel, Udey Jonathan, opposed the application, urging the court to deny Sowore bail.

“My lord, a counter-affidavit deposed to by one Friday Ameh, a police intelligence officer, has been filed against the bail application,” Udey said.

“We seek reliance on all paragraphs of our counter-affidavit and have filed a written address in support, dated January 29, 2025. We adopt the written address as our oral submission against the bail application and urge the honourable court to dismiss it.”

He further argued, “Bail cannot be handed out like candy; it should not be granted in vacuo. While bail is at the court’s discretion, it is not a state of grace. If the court decides to grant bail, it should impose stringent terms to ensure the defendant’s appearance for trial, including the submission of his international passport.”

After considering arguments from both sides, Justice Liman adjourned the ruling to Thursday at 1 pm.