The DSS has directed its counsel to seek a pause in the cybercrime case against AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore until after the January 2027 election, a case that has already seen a bail revocation and bench warrant this year.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has directed its private counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, to seek an adjournment of the cybercrime case against Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), until after the 2027 presidential election.
A DSS source said the decision is intended to guarantee Sowore’s seamless participation in the polls, scheduled for January 16, 2027, with campaigns having commenced on August 19, 2026, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) timetable.
The source said DSS Director-General Tosin Ajayi met with the agency’s counsel and officials of its legal directorate on August 20, a day after INEC officially lifted the ban on campaigns, to deliberate on the issue.
“The DSS boss reportedly told the senior advocate and his directorate of legal services that, with the commencement of presidential campaigns, it would only be fair to adjourn the court case in order to enable Sowore fully participate in the upcoming elections without let or hindrance,” the source said, adding that since the case had been in court for nearly a year, pausing it for a further period would not make much difference. Reports vary on how long that pause is expected to last, with figures of “a few months” and “about four months” both cited by different sources.
The DSS’s position is expected to be formally communicated to the Federal High Court on September 14. Cases involving other candidates for elective positions in 2027 are also reportedly under review by the agency for similar treatment.
Why the DSS Charged Sowore
The DSS instituted the case over posts Sowore made on his X and Facebook accounts on August 25, 2025, in which he referred to President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal.” The service gave him seven days to remove the posts; after he failed to comply, the DSS approached the Federal High Court in Abuja on September 16, 2025, without arresting or inviting him, seeking judicial interpretation on whether it was lawful to describe the president, or any individual, as a criminal. The agency has taken a similar approach in a separate, unrelated case seeking the court’s interpretation of the legality of Professor Pat Utomi’s “Shadow Government” initiative.
X Corp and Meta Platforms Inc. were initially joined as defendants. Before filing the case, the DSS had written to X demanding the deactivation of Sowore’s verified account, arguing the post could incite violence and threaten national security, and separately wrote to Meta arguing its mandate to protect the president extends beyond physical threats.
In January 2026, the DSS amended the charge, reducing the counts from five to two and removing X and Meta as defendants, leaving Sowore as the sole defendant. The charges have been variously described across reporting as cybercrime, cyberstalking, cyber-bullying and criminal defamation; one report specified the counts as criminal defamation, cyberstalking and incitement. Sowore pleaded not guilty and secured bail.
A Contentious Case
The case has not proceeded smoothly. In June 2026, presiding judge Justice Mohammed Umar revoked Sowore’s bail and ordered a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for a scheduled court proceeding. Sahara Reporters, citing unnamed sources, alleged around the same time that former Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun was pushing for Sowore’s arrest and had advised the presidency that remanding him in custody was the most effective way to keep him from contesting in 2027; the report also alleged, without independent verification, that presidential Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila was coordinating the effort due to a long-standing grievance against Sowore. These allegations have not been independently confirmed and were reported based on unnamed sourcing.
More recently, at a July 22 hearing, Sowore’s defence team, led by Marshall Olumide-Fusika, sought to subpoena DSS DG Ajayi to testify and produce a September 7, 2025 letter demanding Sowore retract his posts a request the defence later dropped after the Attorney-General of the Federation’s office argued the document had already been admitted into evidence twice. Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the matter to August 3, before the DSS’s decision to seek a longer adjournment through to after the 2027 election was disclosed.
