Court Grants Sowore, Others Bail

A Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja has granted publisher of Sahara Reporters and Convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore bail in the sum of N20million and two sureties. The court also granted bail to four other persons who were arrested and detained alongside Sowore in the sum of N1million and one surety each. They are said to be on trial for charges bordering on unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbance. It will be recalled that Sowore was arrested on December 31, 2020 in Abuja for holding a “Cross over protest” against bad governance. He had also been continuously detained in 2019 despite court orders granting him bail, following his facilitation of #RevolutionNow protests in August 2019. The worry about Sowore’s arrest is the apparent intolerance for dissent by the government. It is unclear why a peaceful protest by a Nigerian citizen can lead to such an arrest and prosecution.