A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Linus Williams Ifejirika, also known as Blord, after days of legal uncertainty regarding his incarceration.
The ruling has received widespread public attention owing to claims about how security officials handled his case.
Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and former presidential candidate, verified the situation on Friday, stating that the court had given bail on self-recognizance. He further stated that the release order came with specific limitations.
Sowore reported that the court granted bail on self-recognizance, but also required the defendant to surrender his international passport as part of the conditions.
“Bail has been granted to Linus Williams, popularly known as @mrblordofficial BLORD, on self-recognizance. The court, however, ordered that he deposit his international passport as part of the bail conditions,” Sowore said.
Sowore had already revealed his attendance at the Federal High Court in Abuja during the bail hearing. He voiced doubt about the outcome while maintaining cautious optimism.
“Today at the Federal High Court in Abuja, I am present for the bail hearing of Linus Williams, widely known as BLORD. As proceedings unfold, we brace ourselves for the worst while still holding on to hope for the best outcome,” he wrote.
allegations regarding the detention process.
The case has also been overshadowed by claims of misbehaviour among Nigeria Police Force personnel, particularly officials assigned to the National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC) in Abuja.
Some officials have been accused of abusing their authority in the conduct of Blord’s imprisonment, including allegations of improper treatment while in custody.
SaharaReporters had previously documented charges that several police personnel worked with social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, to humiliate the arrested businessman.
According to police sources, a video from the detention facility was allegedly released to the activist for public viewing.
“One of the officers attached to the National Cybercrime Centre, Abuja, in a brazen act of misconduct, obtained and leaked a detention video of B-Lord to Martins Otse… for the sole purpose of humiliating and dehumanising him,” a senior police source had told SaharaReporters.
Further allegations suggest that the film was recorded under dubious conditions, with officials staging incidents within the prison facility.
“The video showed Blord, obviously fatigued from the long trip, being forcefully awakened by police officers who deliberately rattled his cell gate, an act clearly staged to create degrading content. It was cruelty, intimidation, and collusion at its best,” another source said.
Additionally, there were allegations that several NCCC officials, including Inspector Sule, an investigative officer, may have collaborated with the activist on the incident.
“There is strong indication that certain officers… had entered into a deliberate arrangement with VeryDarkMan to punish Blord over a personal dispute,” a top-ranking officer alleged.
According to sources, the court’s decision to send Blord to Kuje Correctional Center rather than remand him in the NCCC jail upset the purported plan.
“The entire arrangement collapsed when the court refused to send him back to the NCCC. Instead, he was remanded in Kuje prison, which disrupted whatever plans had been put in place,” a source added.
Eyewitnesses also alleged that VeryDarkMan followed the prison van transporting Blord to Kuje and livestreamed the movement online.
“He followed the prison van from the court to Kuje prison, livestreaming the movement and ridiculing Blord. It turned a lawful state process into a public spectacle,” another source said.
Watch the video below;