SSS Moves to Pause Sowore's Cyberstalking Trial Until After the 2027 Presidential Election

The Request

The State Security Service (SSS), also known as the DSS, has explained its decision to seek a temporary suspension of the ongoing cyberstalking trial of Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC). According to a statement issued by the agency's media unit, Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi directed the SSS's counsel, Akintola Kehinde, to pursue the suspension so that Sowore can fully participate in the 2027 electioneering process. Sowore is being prosecuted on charges of criminal defamation, cyberstalking and incitement stemming from social media posts in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a criminal.

How the Case Got Here

Trial judge Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja had already rescheduled proceedings for September 20, when the prosecution is expected to formally apply for the case to be paused until sometime after the 2027 election. The SSS says it will communicate the request to the court from September 14, once the Federal High Court resumes sittings following its annual vacation. The case has run for almost a year, marked by repeated procedural disputes between prosecution and defence, including an unexpected appearance by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to block a defence subpoena targeting Ajayi earlier this year. Sowore's lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had initially sought to compel both Ajayi and presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga to testify as defence witnesses before eventually withdrawing that application after a subpoenaed SSS official struggled to answer questions relating to a letter demanding Sowore retract his posts.

A Contested Legal Basis

Constitutional lawyer Festus Ogun has pushed back on the SSS's approach, describing the suspension request as an abuse of judicial process and arguing that if the agency believed the prosecution should not proceed, its proper course was to withdraw or discontinue the case entirely rather than seek an indefinite pause. The SSS, for its part, maintains that prosecuting a candidate ahead of an election is not inherently improper unless the process is shown to be politically motivated, selectively applied, or designed to obstruct an eligible candidate's participation. Whether granting the suspension falls within those lines will ultimately rest with the court, as counsel Kehinde has acknowledged. The dispute has also left an open question the SSS has yet to publicly address: what becomes of the prosecution should Sowore emerge victorious in the very election the suspension is meant to protect his participation in. For now, the request awaits formal presentation before Justice Umar when the court resumes sittings.