The agency is reportedly considering a four-month pause to allow the AAC presidential candidate to participate fully in the election campaign
The Department of State Services (DSS) has directed its private counsel, Akinolu Kehinde, SAN, to take steps to suspend the alleged cyberbullying case against African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, until after the 2027 presidential election.
The development followed a meeting between DSS Director-General Tosin Ajayi, the senior lawyer and officials of the agency’s legal directorate on August 20, according to a source close to the DSS counsel.
The source said the meeting considered pausing the case to allow Sowore to participate fully in the electoral process ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
According to the source, Ajayi told the legal team that since the case had been in court for nearly a year, suspending it for about four months would make little difference.
The DSS is expected to formally communicate the proposed suspension to the Federal High Court when regular sittings resume on September 14, 2026, after the annual judicial vacation.
If granted, the suspension would keep the case in abeyance throughout the election campaign and voting period.
The case followed social media posts made by Sowore on August 25, 2025, in which he referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal” on his X and Facebook accounts.
The DSS subsequently gave Sowore seven days to delete the posts, but he reportedly refused.
The agency then approached the Federal High Court seeking a determination on whether describing Tinubu or any other person as a criminal without a court pronouncement amounted to cyberbullying.