Justice Umaru Abdullahi gave the ruling in an appeal filed by Abiola against the refusal, by a lower court trying him for treason, to grant him unconditional bail, said a journalist who was in court in the northern city of Kaduna. Abiola, the undeclared winner of last year's annulled presidential vote, was not in court.
The prosecutor said the military government would appeal against the ruling, and it was not clear whether it would free Abiola pending the outcome.
Abiola was arrested in June after he proclaimed himself president in defiance of Nigeria's military rulers, sparking strikes and protests in July and August.
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