Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the lead counsel for African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore have demanded the immediate withdrawal of all criminal charges against the activist, describing the Department of State Services' decision to suspend the trial until after the 2027 election as an inadequate response to a fundamentally flawed prosecution.
SERAP and Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, made the demands on Monday, August 31, 2026, reacting to the DSS's announcement that it would put Sowore's cyberbullying case on hold until after the January 2027 presidential election. The DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, had directed the agency's counsel to seek an adjournment of the case, citing the need for Sowore to participate fully in the electioneering process without legal hindrance.
SERAP, in a statement by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, rejected the suspension as a "selective pause for electoral convenience" that leaves the charges hanging over Sowore. "The DSS cannot selectively pause a politically sensitive prosecution for electoral convenience while leaving the bogus charges hanging over Sowore. The appropriate response is to withdraw the charges altogether," SERAP declared. The organisation argued that the prosecution was an unacceptable use of criminal law to silence a political opponent, and that suspending the case until after the election does not resolve the fundamental problem that the charges should never have been brought in the first place.
SERAP called on President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and the DSS to withdraw all charges against Sowore and to stop using the Cybercrimes Act to suppress peaceful criticism, particularly as Nigeria approaches a general election. The organisation also referenced a 2022 ECOWAS Court judgment that declared the former Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act arbitrary and repressive, urging the government to comply fully with its human rights obligations.
Olumide-Fusika, while acknowledging that the DSS's stated reason for seeking an adjournment was reasonable, faulted the agency's procedure. He revealed that the defence team only learned of the suspension through media reports, rather than through official communication from the prosecution. "We got to know of these developments the same way you all got to know of it, through publication. We never got any such press statement," he said at a press conference in Lagos. He also criticised the wording of the DSS statement, warning that it created the impression that the security agency, rather than the court, controls the judicial process.
The senior lawyer then issued a direct challenge to the DSS: either withdraw the charge completely or hand the case over to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for prosecution. He argued that the DSS's statutory mandate is internal security and intelligence gathering, not criminal prosecution of government critics. "The duty of the DSS is to investigate and hand it over to the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, not to jump into charging to court anyone that makes any statement against the President," Olumide-Fusika said.
Sowore, who is facing amended charges under the Cybercrimes Act 2024 over social media posts in which he described President Tinubu as a "criminal," has rejected the DSS's move to suspend his trial. He insisted that the charges should be completely withdrawn and that the agency should issue a public apology. Speaking on Channels Television's The Morning Brief, Sowore said the DSS's request to pause the case shows the agency is trying to hide its failures after realising the trial would not succeed. He accused security agencies of trying to control the courts and insisted that the DSS lacks the legal right to simply pause a trial it started.
The DSS had earlier this year secured a court ruling dismissing Sowore's no-case submission, ordering him to enter his defence in the cyberbullying case. The agency's decision to suspend the trial comes just days after the Independent National Electoral Commission lifted the ban on presidential campaign activities on August 19, 2026, ahead of the January 16, 2027 election.
While the National Association of Nigerian Students and the National Association of Polytechnic Students have commended the DSS for the suspension, describing it as a commitment to democracy and a level playing field for all candidates, the pressure from SERAP, Sowore's legal team, and civil society organisations continues to mount. The question now is whether the DSS will heed the calls to withdraw the charges entirely, transfer the case to the AGF, or proceed with a trial that many see as a politically motivated attempt to silence a vocal critic of the government.
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