BEKEE ANYALEWECHI
Publisher of online news platform, Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was today, Monday, granted bail by a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja, a decision he equated to being released “to the tyrant’s wild”.
Sowore also recounted his and his co-accused ordeals in the hands of Federal authorities.
The Chief Magistrate Court granted him bail in the sum of N20m.
Four other activists, who were arrested with Sowore on New Year’s Eve in Abuja for holding a protest against bad governance, were also granted bail in the sum of N1m each.
Sowore and Juwon Sanyaolu, Peter Williams, Emmanuel Bulus, and Damilare Adenola are standing trial for alleged unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy, and inciting public disturbance.
Chief Magistrate Mabel Segun-Bello while ruling on the bail application on Monday admitted Sowore to bail in the sum of N20million and two sureties in like sum.
The court also ordered Sowore to remain in Abuja and must physically report to the court registrar every Monday and Friday pending the hearing and determination of the case against him.
The court further ordered that one of his sureties must be a civil servant not below grade level 12.
Sowore, in recounting their ordeal, narrated, on his verified twitter handle, @YeleSowore, how they were kept inside mosquito-infested cells run by the dreaded but disbanded Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Abuja, after which they were sent to Kuje prison and later sent to another dingy cell police cell operated by the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, FCIID.
On the terms of his latest bail, today, the rights activist described it as “discriminatory and harsh”.
Sowore, who was earlier declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in 2019, was detained for several months by the Buhari regime for allegedly calling for a revolution.
He was denied bail several times and even re-arrested inside the Federal High Court. However, he was released after domestic and international pressures in December 2019.
