The reported decision of the Department of State Services (DSS) to ask the Federal High Court to adjourn its case against Omoyele Sowore until after the 16th January 2027 Presidential Election is a remarkable summersault. I wonder how the same DSS that dragged Sowore to court over his description of President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” has suddenly discovered the importance of fairness and a level playing field because Sowore is a Presidential Candidate.
The question on the lips of many Nigerians is simple: what has changed? Definitely, the alleged statement made by Sowore has not changed. The circumstances surrounding it have not changed. The case has not suddenly become irrelevant because an election is approaching. What has actually changed is that the DSS now realises that the prosecution could interfere with Sowore’s participation in the forthcoming election.
In my view, that realisation came too late. The prosecution was ill-planned and unnecessary from the outset. In a democracy, public officials must expect criticism, including harsh, unpleasant and provocative criticism. The President, Governors and other public officers are not above scrutiny merely because they occupy public offices. As a matter of fact, any person who cannot withstand criticism has no business hanging around public offices.
Calling the President a name may be offensive, irresponsible or politically provocative, but it should not automatically become a matter for the nation’s foremost domestic intelligence agency to handle. The DSS should have been concerned primarily with matters that threaten national security, not with policing political insults or legitimate complaints about bad governance.
The greater irony is that the Sowore prosecution has now produced an unintended consequence: it has demystified the security agencies. Sowore has demonstrated that the enormous powers of the State are not unlimited. He has shown that a Nigerian citizen can challenge the machinery of government and insist on his or her constitutional rights.
This episode should reassure Nigerians that they cannot simply be arrested, prosecuted or illegally penalised merely because they criticise President Tinubu. We all have the right to complain about bad governance at the Federal, State or Local Government levels. That is an important democratic lesson.
The DSS must, however, answer another question: how much public money has been spent pursuing this case? The agency is funded by Nigerian taxpayers. It therefore means that every investigation activity, court appearance, legal filing and other expenditure associated with this prosecution was ultimately borne by the Nigerian people. If the DSS now believes that the case can conveniently wait until after the Presidential Election, then Nigerians are entitled to question why such resources were wasted on the prosecution in the first place.
I submit finally that the DSS owes Sowore an apology. It owes an apology to his family, his lawyers and the numerous supporters who have been subjected to the anxiety, pressure and trauma associated with the prosecution. An apology will not weaken the DSS. It will demonstrate maturity and respect for the Nigerian people.
Never again should the DSS make a mockery of itself in this manner. The Sowore case has exposed the danger of confusing political dissent with criminality. Whenever Nigerians complain about bad governance or express their anger with the State, the appropriate response is not always arrest or prosecution. Sometimes, the appropriate response is for the persons in authority to simply listen.
Barr. Edward Omaga is the
President of Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN) and writes from Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached on integritycrusaders@gmail.com or 08050758966 (WhatsApp).
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