UPDATED: Court Grants Omoyele Sowore, Others Bail

UPDATED: Court Grants Omoyele Sowore, Others Bail

A Magistrate Court in Kuje, Abuja, has granted bail to human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, along with several protesters arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow demonstration in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Among those granted bail are Aloy Ejimakor, legal counsel to the detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu; Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu; and 11 other individuals.

Presided over by Magistrate Abubakar Umar Sai’I’d, the court issued the bail order on Friday following the defendants’ arraignment on charges of unlawful assembly and public disturbance.

According to the ruling, Sowore and the other defendants were granted bail in the sum of ₦500,000 each, on the condition that they provide a verified National Identification Number (NIN).

They are also required to submit their three-year tax clearance certificates and passports as part of the bail conditions.

Sowore’s arrest occurred on Thursday shortly after he left the Federal High Court in Abuja. The incident, captured in widely circulated videos, sparked outrage from civil society organisations and human rights groups, who condemned it as an attempt to stifle dissent and suppress activism.

A prominent voice for democracy and social justice for over three decades, Sowore is best known for his fearless journalism and activism through SaharaReporters — a platform renowned for exposing corruption and abuses of power within government circles.