Court Warns Sowore, Threatens Bail Revocation Over Alleged Defamatory Social Media Posts

A Federal High Court in Abuja has warned politician and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, against making further public statements considered detrimental to national peace and security on social media.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Mohammed Umar cautioned that the court would not hesitate to revoke Sowore’s bail if he repeated such actions.

The judge noted that although Sowore had once contested for the presidency and previously enjoyed bail with his passport in the court’s custody, he remained eligible for bail on self-recognition.

The ruling followed a bail application moved by his counsel, Marshall Abubakar, after Sowore was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on cybercrime and defamation. The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting him for allegedly referring to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” in posts published on X and Facebook.

Sowore, who was the 2019 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), pleaded not guilty to the charges, which cited alleged violations of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024 and the Criminal Code Act.