Omoyele Sowore faces possible remand over unmet bail conditions in Nigeria

The Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that if presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore does not satisfy his bail conditions by the close of work on Monday, July 13, 2026, he will be taken back to the Kuje Correctional Centre. The court set a N200 million bail bond, required the deposit of his international passport, and demanded two sureties – a traditional ruler from his community and a land‑owner in Abuja – whose identities must be verified by the prosecution.

Department of State Services counsel Akinlolu Kehinde SAN told the court that Sowore had not yet deposited his passport and had not informed the prosecution of any difficulty, urging that he be remanded until all conditions are met. He said, “The defendant was released to his lawyer to go and bring his passport to be deposited with the court. That has not been communicated to us, and other conditions of the bail have not been met.”

Sowore’s lawyer Olumide Fusika SAN argued that bail is not a punishment, that the verification of documents was substantially completed, and that the passport would be deposited before the deadline. He blamed a brief delay on the United States Embassy in Lagos being closed for the U.S. 250th‑anniversary celebration.

The trial, which concerns defamation charges for Sowore’s social‑media posts calling President Bola Tinubu a criminal, continued with Sowore opening his defence and calling witness Deji Adeyanju, who testified that the president had said citizens could criticize and even insult him. The matter was adjourned to July 13 for further proceedings.