Abuja Court Grants Bail to Crypto Entrepreneur Blord, Orders Surrender of Passport

Nigerian cryptocurrency entrepreneur and Blord Group founder Linus Williams Ifejirika, popularly known as Blord or B-Lord, has been granted bail by a Federal High Court in Abuja, with the court ordering him to surrender his international passport as one of the bail conditions bringing to an end a detention that stretched over two weeks and generated intense public debate about the boundaries between civil disputes, law enforcement powers, and judicial process.

The bail grant comes after a turbulent legal journey marked by procedural delays, police opposition, an unreachable presiding judge, and the intervention of human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who publicly condemned the detention and vowed to push for Blord’s release.

Blord’s troubles began on 1st April 2026 when he was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a multi-count charge including criminal conspiracy, impersonation, forgery, and the unauthorised use of a public figure’s identity. The charges arose from a petition filed by popular social media critic Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, who accused Blord of repeatedly using his name, image and brand including placing his likeness on billboards and in promotional materials without consent. Blord was also accused of creating fake digital records, including a purported flight ticket bearing VeryDarkMan’s name.

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The offences were said to contravene the Cybercrime Act as amended in 2024 and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006. Blord pleaded not guilty to all charges and was subsequently remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail application.

What followed was a prolonged legal standoff. His defence team at Dunu Chambers, led by lawyer Chukwudi Chikelue, filed a bail application immediately after arraignment and urgently requested an expedited hearing. The Easter court holidays, however, disrupted proceedings, and when courts resumed the presiding judge was reported as unavailable a development sources described as deeply troubling given that the police had by then moved to withdraw their counter-affidavit opposing Blord’s release.

Sowore, who became a prominent voice in the matter, described the timing of the arrest and the subsequent delays as calculated and called the case one that should never have come to court in the first place. He expressed concern about what he characterised as the misuse of law enforcement connections to facilitate a commercial dispute, while also assuring the public that Blord was in good health during his detention.

With the police having withdrawn their opposition to bail, the path to Blord’s release was eventually cleared, and the court has now formally granted bail with the passport surrender condition attached a standard measure in cases where the court wishes to restrict international travel pending trial.

The next scheduled court date in the matter remains 27th April 2026, when trial proceedings are expected to commence.

Note: National Concord Blog will update this report with full bail terms as official details become available. The Sahara Reporters original source was inaccessible at the time of publication.