Court Grants Sowore N10m Bail For Calling Egbetokun ‘Illegal IG’
A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore a N10 million bail in the alleged cybercrime charges instituted against him by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Justice Musa Liman granted him bail on Thursday with several conditions, including the requirement to deposit his international passport with the court.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that Sowore was arraigned before the court on a 16-count amended charge but pleaded not guilty to all charges filed by the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun.
The police had alleged that Sowore referred to Egbetokun as “the illegal IG of the Nigeria Police Force” on his X (formerly Twitter) page and captioned the IGP’s picture with: _“Mediocrity, incompetence, corruption, a country run by characterless people cannot make progress.”
Ruling on the bail application on Thursday, the judge stated that a person has the right to bail unless there are compelling reasons to deny it.
The judge noted that the police argued that Sowore had cronies within and outside Nigeria who could allegedly interfere with the trial.
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However, the judge ruled that the police failed to prove how Sowore could intimidate high-ranking police officers who would testify in the case.
He further stated that the prosecution did not establish any link between Sowore and the purported cronies.
The judge concluded that the bail applicant deserves his personal liberty pending the outcome of the trial.
“If the applicant desires to jump bail, it is to his own peril,”the judge remarked, noting that the police had previously granted Sowore administrative bail.
“Bail is accordingly granted to the applicant in the sum of N10 million with one surety in like sum,”the judge ruled.
Additionally, the judge ordered that, “the applicant must deposit his international passport with the court. The surety must be a responsible Nigerian citizen residing within the court’s jurisdiction. The surety must submit an affidavit of means and title documents of landed property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which must be verified by the court registrar, along with a valid means of identification”.
The case was adjourned to April 8, 2025.
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
