Court grants Sowore N10 million bail in cybercrime case over abusing IGP Egbetokun

The Federal High Court in Abuja Thursday granted activist Omoyele Sowore bail in the sum of N10 million regarding the cybercrime case filed against him by the police over his unflattering social media remarks about Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun.

The police, on Monday, filed the cybercrime case, which attracts a penalty of a N7 million fine, up to three years’ imprisonment, or both, for his soal media remarks alleging that Mr Egbetokun is incompetent and unlawfully in office.

As part of his bail conditions granted Mr Swore, the court ordered him to provide one surety who is resident and owns landed property in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The trial judge Abdulla Liman, who dismissed the prosecution’s objection to Mr Sowore’s bail request in his ruling on Thursday, also said the surety must be “a prominent and responsible Nigerian citizen”.

He also ordered that the surety must swear an Affidavit of Means and deposit with the registrar of the court an original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property in Abuja, which must be verified by the court’s registrar.

The judge also ordered Mr Sowore and his surety to submit their recent passport photographs and their means of identification preferably the National Identity Card with the to the court’s registrar.

He also directed Mr Sowore to submit his passport to the court registrar, meaning he would not be able to travel outside Nigeria without the court’s permission while the trial lasts.

He adjourned till 8 April for trial.

Mr Liman heard the bail application after the police arraigned Mr Sowore on 17 counts of cybercrime on Wednesday, with the defence lawyer Marshall Abubakar from Falana and Falana Chambers calling for liberal bail conditions for the activist.

The police prosecutor, Uddy Jonathan, opposed the bail application. Should the judge be inclined to grant bail, Mr Jonahtan said, it must be in stringent terms.

The judge then fixed the ruling for Thursday, while ordering the police to keep Mr Sowore in custody till his decision on bail is delivered.

Mr Sowre, who has been detained since honouring police invitation in Abuja on Monday, denied all the 17 counts during his arraignment on Wednesday.

Charges

The police charges alleged that Sowore called Mr Egbetokun “The illegal IG of the Nigeria Police Force” via his official X page, including captioning the IGP’s picture: “Mediocrity, incompetence, corruption, a country run by characterless people cannot make progress.”

The Nigerian police charged Mr Sowore on Tuesday with 17 counts of cybercrime offences for referring to the IGP, Mr Egbetokun, as “illegal IGP” in a post on his social media platforms.

Mr Egbetokun, who was expected to have exited service having attained the statutory retirement age of 60 years in September 2024, secured an extended stay in office following a controversial alteration to the Nigeria Police Act passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu.

The alteration allowed Mr Egbetokun to stay in office for up to four years as Nigeria’s police chief.

The police alleged in the indictment filed on Tuesday that Mr Sowore knew that the description of Mr Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP” was false, but knowingly made the claim to cause a “breakdown of law and order”.

They alleged that the act constituted an offence contrary to section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, ETC) Act, 2015 as amended (2024) and punishable under section 24(2)(c) (ii) of the same Act.

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Mr Sowore, who was detained after honouring a police invitation on Monday, described the charges as ridiculous.

His invitation by the police was prompted by a video clip he uploaded on social media alleging extortion by officers at a checkpoint in Lagos.