Department of State Services (DSS) has instructed its private counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, to take steps to adjourn the case of alleged cyber-bullying it instituted against the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, until after the upcoming presidential election slated for January 16, 2027.

The DSS had approached the court to determine if it was proper for Sowore to allegedly cyber-bully President Bola Tinubu in August 25, 2025 posts on his “X” handle and Facebook page, referring to the President as a “criminal.”

The DSS also instructed that cases of contestants for other elective positions should also be reviewed accordingly.

“The DSS boss told the lawyers that, since the matter had been in court for nearly a year, suspending it for another four months wouldn’t make much difference,” the source said.

The secret police stated that the Sowore matter was to seek judicial interpretation on the propriety of arbitrarily calling President Bola Tinubu or any individual a criminal, in the same way it approached the court to rule on the legality of Prof. Pat Utomi’s “Shadow Government.”

The DSS, in a September 6, 2025 letter to the chairman of Meta Corp, stated that, aside from protecting the President from physical threats, it is also, by law, empowered to protect him from psychological attacks.

After Sowore’s posts, the DSS gave him seven days to pull them down. After the expiration of the ultimatum, and the politician still refused to pull down the posts, the secret police, without inviting or arresting him, on September 16, 2025, approached the court for adjudication.

A source close to the DSS lawyer, disclosed that the Director General, Mr Tosin Ajayi, met with the senior lawyer and top officers of the DSS’ legal directorate on August 20, a day after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officially lifted the ban on campaigns, to consider pausing the court case to enable Sowore to fully exercise his right to contest the upcoming presidential election.

The case against Sowore was adjourned to September 20, 2026. However, the proposed suspension of the case is expected to be formally communicated to the Federal High Court from September 14, 2026, when the court is scheduled to resume normal sittings following its annual judicial vacation.

It was gathered that the DSS lawyers would ask the court for a long adjournment from next month till January or February 2027, during which time the presidential electioneering and election would have been concluded.

MEANWHILE, the African Action Congress has rejected the reported suspension of the case against its 2027 presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, by the DSS.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Rex Elanu, yesterday, the AAC asked the DSS to immediately discontinue the prosecution of Sowore.

The party’s demand followed reports that the secret police had suspended its prosecution of Sowore until after the 2027 presidential election.

Recall that the DSS ordered its private counsel, Akinolu Kehinde, SAN, to take steps to suspend the alleged cyberbullying case instituted against Sowore until after the 2027 presidential election.

The development came against the backdrop of a meeting between the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Ajayi, the senior lawyer and top officials of the agency’s legal directorate.

Also, Sowore has reacted to the suspension of his cybercrime trial by the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the development as a victory for resistance against oppression.

Sowore, in a statement, noted the DSS had been “forced to eat humble pie” after what he described as an unlawful and futile prosecution.

He said the development reinforced his belief that resistance against oppressive authorities could prevail, adding that he had faced similar battles under previous administrations.