A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, varied bail granted bail to the convener of #RevolutionNow protest, Omoyele Sowore, and co-defendant, Olawale Bakare.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on Oct. 4 granted Sowore bail, barring him from addressing any rally pending the conclusion of their trial on charges of treasonable felony among others.
She also barred Sowore from travelling out of Abuja and the second defendant out of Osogbo, during the trial.
She granted bail to Sowore in the sum of N100m with two sureties in like sum.
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The sureties, who must be resident in Abuja must also have landed assets worth the bail sum in Abuja, and they are to deposit the original title documents of the assets with the court.
The judge also ordered him to deposit the sum of N50m in the account of the court as security.
However, ruling in an application to vary the bail because the defendants could not meet the conditions, Justice Ijeoma reduced the N50m to N20m and removed the N50m deposit as security.
But the prosecution counsel, Liman Hassan, vehemently opposed the variation of the bail terms on the grounds that Sowore will jump bail and that the charges against him bordered on national security.
He cited Sowore’s chanting of RevolutionNow after appearing in court as one of the reasons for opposing the application.
Delivering ruling in the application, Monday, the court granted the request of Sowore and consequently set aside the order directing one of the sureties to make a security deposit of N50m.
While the court reviewed downward the bail of Bakare from N50m to N20m that of Sowore remains N100m.
Justice Ojukwu, in addition, held that all previous conditions attached to the bail stood, adding that the order restraining Sowore from participating in rallies and protests was not an infringement of his fundamental rights.
She held that the court’s order barring Sowore from attending rallies and travelling out of Abuja did not violate his fundamental human rights and his appeal was consequently dismissed on the grounds that no right is absolute.
Justice Ojukwu adjourned further hearing of the case till 6 and 7 November for commencement of trial.
Charges against Sowore and Olawale include that of committing conspiracy to commit a treasonable felony in breach of section 516 of the Criminal Code Act by allegedly staging “a revolution campaign on September 5, 2019 aimed at removing the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
Sowore was also accused of committing treasonable felony in breach of section, 4(1) of the Criminal Code Act, by using the platform of Coalition for Revolution, in August 2019 to stage the #RevolutionNow protest allegedly aimed at removing the President.
Moreover, the Federal Government accused the publisher of Saharareporters of cybercrime offences by “knowingly” sending “messages by means of press interview granted on Arise Television network which you knew to be false for the purpose of causing insult, enmity, hatred and ill-will on the person of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The charges against Sowore also include money laundering offences in breach of section 15(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
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