Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has been at the center of controversy for years. His #RevolutionNow campaign, launched in August 2019, aims to bring about total change to Nigeria's polity and governance. The movement has faced heavy security crackdowns, and Sowore has been arrested and detained by security agencies, including the Police and the Department of State Service (DSS), on multiple occasions.
The DSS has been prosecuting Sowore on cybercrime charges for allegedly insulting President Bola Tinubu on his social media platform. The case has been ongoing at a Federal High Court in Abuja, with the DSS concluding its case and Sowore's legal team starting its defense. However, in a surprise move, the DSS issued a statement on Sunday, instructing its lawyers to suspend Sowore's trial till after the 2027 presidential election, citing a desire to allow him to carry out his presidential campaign without hindrance.
According to the DSS, the decision to suspend the case was made to enable Sowore to participate fully in the electoral process without the case constituting a distraction or hindrance. The agency's Director-General, Mr. Oluwatosin Ajayi, directed the legal team to explore ways of suspending the proceedings, which would not prejudice the case. The DSS had approached the Federal High Court over social media posts made by Sowore on August 25, 2025, in which he reportedly referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a 'criminal'.
Sowore's legal team has reacted to the DSS' statement, with his Lead Counsel, Barrister Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), saying that the law did not give the DSS the power to prosecute anybody. Olumide-Fusika stressed that the DSS is a spy agency on the nation's internal security and should only focus on investigation of cases, adding that it should drop the cybercrime case against Sowore.
The DSS had given Sowore seven days to remove the post, which he declined to comply with, leading to the institution of the case at the Federal High Court on September 16, 2025. The agency is seeking judicial determination of whether it is lawful for an individual to arbitrarily describe the President, or any other person, as a criminal without a judicial pronouncement to that effect.
Olumide-Fusika said that the DSS' action of asking its legal team to 'suspend' the case till after the election was strange in law, adding that the agency should hand over the matter to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), if it felt that there were reasons to prosecute Sowore. He emphasized that the DSS should stop encroaching on the powers of the Judiciary.
The suspension of the case is expected to be formally communicated to the Federal High Court from September 14, 2026, when the court is scheduled to resume normal sittings following its annual judicial vacation. The case has been adjourned to September 20, 2026, and the proposed suspension would see the court proceedings put on hold till January or February 2027, after the presidential electioneering and election have been concluded.
Key points
- The DSS has suspended its cybercrime case against Omoyele Sowore till after the 2027 presidential election.
- Sowore's legal team has reacted to the DSS' statement, saying that the agency has no power to prosecute anybody.
- The case against Sowore was instituted over social media posts in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a 'criminal'.
