Olumide Fusika, counsel to Omoyele Sowore, has urged the Department of State Services (DSS) to withdraw the cybercrime charges against his client or transfer the case to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
Gatekeepers News reports that Fusika, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), made the call at a press conference on Monday while reacting to the DSS’ reported decision to seek an adjournment of Sowore’s trial until after the 2027 presidential election.
The DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, had reportedly directed the agency’s counsel to seek the adjournment, with the stated aim of allowing Sowore to participate fully in the 2027 election campaign.
However, Fusika faulted the manner in which the decision was communicated, saying Sowore’s legal team learnt about it through media reports rather than from the prosecution.
“We got to know of these developments the same way you all got to know of it through publication. We never got any such press statement,” he said.
The lawyer said the DSS should either instruct its counsel to withdraw the charges completely or hand over the prosecution to the AGF.
He argued that the DSS’ responsibility was primarily to investigate and hand cases over to the AGF, rather than prosecute individuals for statements made against the president.
“The duty of the DSS is to gather investigations and hand them over to the office of the attorney-general of the federation, not to jump into charging to court anyone that makes any statement against the president,” Fusika said.
The charges against Sowore stem from an August 25 post on X in which he described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” while reacting to the president’s comments on corruption during a visit to Brazil.
Fusika said the defence would not oppose an application for adjournment if it was properly filed before the court, but maintained that the DSS should not give the impression that it controls court proceedings.
He also said the DSS’ decision to suspend the case provided an opportunity for the agency to avoid any perception of political interference by withdrawing the case or transferring it to the AGF.
Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has similarly called for the charges against Sowore to be withdrawn, arguing that suspending the case until after the 2027 election does not address the underlying issue.
