THE Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday admitted the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, to a N200 million bail with two sureties.

One of the court’s justices, Mohammed Umar, in a ruling on Sowore’s application for stay of execution of the order for his bail revocation, directed that one of the sureties must be a traditional ruler from Sowore’s community.

Umar held that the surety must have a landed property in Abuja.

The judge, who held that the sureties must also be verified by the prosecution, the State Security Service (SSS), ordered Sowore to also deposit his international passport with deputy chief registrar of the court.

The judge then handed over the defendant to his lawyers and adjourned the matter until July 6 for Sowore to open his defence.

Umar earlier vacated the defendant’s bail revocation order and the earlier order remanding him in Kuje Correctional Centre.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Umar had, on June 22, ordered the remand of Sowore, also the publisher of Sahara Reporters, in Kuje Correctional Centre.

The judge, in a short ruling, ordered Sowore to be kept in the correctional centre pending the hearing and determination of his motion for stay of the order for revocation of his bail and bench warrant filed by his lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a senior advocate.

The judge equally dismissed Sowore’s earlier application seeking the judge’s recusal from the case on the ground of alleged bias.

He adjourned the matter till June 24 for hearing of the application for stay of execution.

After Sowore’s application was moved and argued on June 24, Umar fixed today for a ruling.

He ordered the defendant to remain in custody pending the ruling.

The judge had, on June 16, revoked a bail granted to Sowore following his failure to appear in court for his trial.

Umar, in a ruling on an oral application made by the lawyer to the prosecutor, the SSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, a senior advocate, also issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

The SSS is prosecuting Sowore for allegedly making false claims against President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in a post he made on his X and Facebook accounts. (NAN)