BREAKING: DSS Counsel Denies In Open Court Reported Plan To Suspend Sowore’s Trial Until After 2027 Election
BREAKING: DSS Counsel Denies In Open Court Reported Plan To Suspend Sowore’s Trial Until After 2027 Election
Counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, has denied in open court having knowledge of any directive by the agency to suspend the ongoing trial of African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate and human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, until after the 2027 general election.
Kehinde made the clarification on Monday, September 28, 2026, during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja, after Sowore’s lead counsel, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, SAN, raised the issue before Justice Mohammed Umar.
The development came after several media organisations had reported in August that the DSS had directed its prosecuting counsel to seek an adjournment of the case until after the 2027 presidential election.
According to those earlier reports, the proposed suspension was intended to allow Sowore, who is a presidential candidate in the 2027 election, to participate fully in the electoral process without his ongoing trial becoming a hindrance.
However, when the issue was raised in court on Monday, Kehinde reportedly told the judge that he was unaware of any such directive from the DSS.
The DSS counsel reportedly described the reports about the agency’s alleged plan to suspend the case as social media-generated accounts and maintained that he had no knowledge of any decision by the Service to pause the prosecution until after the election.
Sowore’s lawyer, Olumide-Fusika, reportedly expressed surprise at the position of the prosecution, particularly because of the earlier media reports attributing the proposed adjournment to the DSS.
The latest development follows a separate report published by Street News Reporters earlier on Monday, which stated that the DSS had reversed an earlier position and directed its counsel to continue with the prosecution.
Sources cited in that report had alleged that the DSS initially wanted the trial suspended until after the 2027 election but later changed its position.
The earlier reports had linked the proposed suspension to the commencement of the 2027 election campaign period. A report published in August, citing a source close to the DSS legal team, said DSS Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi had met with Kehinde and senior officials of the agency’s legal directorate to discuss the matter.
The source reportedly said the agency considered it appropriate to allow Sowore to participate in the election campaign without the pending court case interfering with his activities.
Sowore, however, had rejected the reported plan to simply postpone the proceedings, demanding instead that the charges against him be withdrawn.
The case against Sowore arose from social media posts in which he referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal.” The Federal Government is prosecuting him under provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, while Sowore has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial has been marked by disagreements between the prosecution and defence over the conduct and pace of proceedings.
At an earlier sitting on August 3, Kehinde accused the defence of employing what he described as “dilatory tactics” to delay the case and urged the court to bring the defence stage to an end.
Olumide-Fusika rejected the allegation and attributed some of the delays to issues involving the court registry and the release of documents.
The disagreement became heated before Justice Umar intervened and warned both senior lawyers about their conduct in court.
The case also previously became entangled in a dispute over the appearance of DSS Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi as a defence witness. Sowore’s legal team had obtained a subpoena seeking his appearance, although the defence later agreed to allow another DSS official to testify instead.
Following Monday’s proceedings, the Federal High Court adjourned the case until Friday, when a subpoenaed DSS witness is expected to appear and the trial is scheduled to continue.
The latest courtroom exchange has brought renewed attention to the conflicting accounts surrounding the DSS’s reported position on whether to continue or suspend the prosecution ahead of the 2027 election.
While earlier media reports attributed a proposed suspension to the DSS, its counsel told the court on Monday that he was unaware of any such directive.
Street News Reporters will continue to follow the proceedings and report further developments as the case resumes.
