The Department of State Services (DSS) has directed its lawyer, Akinolu Kehinde, SAN, to seek a temporary suspension of the alleged cyber-bullying case against African Action Congress presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, until after the 2027 presidential election.
The move could spare Sowore a courtroom battle during the election campaign, after the DSS reportedly decided that the case should be put on hold to allow him to participate fully in the race.
The DSS had approached the court over Sowore’s social media posts of August 25, 2025, in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal.
The secret police wants the court to determine whether such a description of the President or any other person, without a prior judicial finding, amounts to cyber-bullying.
The service said the case was intended to secure judicial interpretation on whether an individual could be publicly labelled a criminal without due process.
It also drew a parallel with its earlier legal action seeking the court’s position on Professor Pat Utomi’s proposed “Shadow Government”.
The latest development means the case could remain on hold until after the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
In a September 6, 2025 letter to the chairman of Meta Corporation, the DSS said its legal responsibility extended beyond protecting the President from physical threats to shielding him from psychological attacks.
Following Sowore’s posts, the DSS had given him seven days to remove them. He reportedly declined to do so after the ultimatum expired.
Rather than invite or arrest him, the DSS subsequently approached the Federal High Court on September 16, 2025, asking the court to adjudicate on the matter.
A source close to the DSS lawyer said Director-General Tosin Ajayi met with Kehinde and senior officials of the service’s Legal Directorate on August 20, a day after the Independent National Electoral Commission lifted the ban on presidential campaigns.
According to the source, the meeting centred on whether the case should be paused to enable Sowore to campaign and contest the presidential election without being distracted by the court proceedings.
The DSS boss reportedly told the senior lawyer and legal officials that, with presidential campaigns already underway, suspending the case would be fair and would allow Sowore to exercise his constitutional right to participate in the election without hindrance.
The source said Ajayi also argued that since the case had already spent almost a year in court, keeping it in abeyance for another four months would not significantly affect the matter.
The DSS is expected to formally communicate its position to the Federal High Court from Monday, September 14, 2026, when the court is scheduled to resume normal sittings after its annual judicial vacation.
