DSS Moves to Halt Sowore’s Cybercrime Case Until After 2027 Election

The Department of State Services (DSS) has directed its legal counsel to seek an adjournment of the alleged cyber-bullying case against African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, until after the 2027 presidential election.

The decision followed a meeting between the DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, senior counsel Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, and officials of the agency’s Legal Directorate on August 20.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the meeting considered putting the case on hold to allow Sowore to participate fully in the 2027 presidential election without the pending court proceedings becoming an impediment to his campaign.

Presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while the campaign period has already commenced.

The DSS had instituted the case following social media posts allegedly made by Sowore on August 25, 2025, in which he referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.”

The agency subsequently gave Sowore seven days to remove the posts. After he declined, the DSS approached the Federal High Court in Abuja on September 16, 2025, seeking a judicial determination on whether such a description constituted cyber-bullying.

The service said the case was also intended to obtain judicial interpretation on whether it was lawful for anyone to describe the President or another individual as a criminal without a court conviction.

The DSS had earlier written to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, arguing that its statutory responsibility to protect the President extended beyond physical threats to psychological attacks.

The case was later amended, with the number of counts reduced from five to two and the social media companies initially joined as defendants removed from the proceedings. Sowore subsequently pleaded not guilty and was granted bail.

A source close to the DSS counsel said the agency considered it fair to pause the proceedings following the commencement of presidential campaigns, allowing Sowore to exercise his constitutional right to contest the election without hindrance.

The source added that since the case had already been before the court for nearly a year, delaying it for a few additional months would not make a significant difference.

The DSS is expected to formally communicate its position to the Federal High Court when the court resumes normal sittings on September 14, 2026, following its annual judicial vacation.

The proposed adjournment would effectively keep the case on hold until after the 2027 presidential election, allowing Sowore to concentrate on his campaign during the electoral period.

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