Court Takes Fresh Decision On Sowore’s Bail

A Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, has partially reviewed conditions of the bail granted to the convener of the #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore.

YaahooJournalist reports that the court had earlier granted Sowore N100 million bail with two sureties who must be resident in Abuja and have landed properties within the federal capital territory.

In the judgment, the court had held that the sureties must deposit original documents of those properties in the court registry.

The presiding judge also ordered that one of the sureties must deposit N50 million with the court pending the determination of the case.

While barring Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters from travelling outside Abuja, the judge ordered him to deposit his passport with the court.

But at the court on Monday, the trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, set aside the previous order on Sowore’s surety depositing N50m, holding that the surety could deposit N30 million.

Justice Ojukwu also reduced the bail sum of Olawale Bakare, Sowore’s co-defendant to N30m instead of the initial N50m.

The presiding judge refused to vary all the other conditions for bail.

YaahooJournalist reports that Sowore’s counsel, Femi Falana, had approached the court seeking a variation to the previous bail conditions which he said were stringent, thus, could not be met.

This online news media recalls that the federal government had charged Sowore with treasonable felony, “insulting” President Muhammadu Buhari and money laundering.

The Department of State Services (DSS) had arrested Sowore in Lagos on August 3 and he was later moved to Abuja.