The State Security Service (SSS, also known as DSS) has explained why it is seeking to suspend the ongoing cyberstalking trial of Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist and presidential candidate for African Action Congress (AAC).
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the SSS director general, Oluwatosin Ajayi, directed the agency’s counsel to make a move towards applying for a temporary suspension of the case.
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Mr Ajayi told the SSS counsel, Akinola Kehinde, that the decision was to allow Mr Sowore participate in the electionioneering processes.
Mr Sowore is being prosecuted for allegedly defaming President Bola Tinubu in social media posts where he described him a “criminal.”
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The case which had lingered for almost a year will resume after the 2027 presidential election, the SSS said.
This newspaper reported it is not unusual to suspend prosecution of any candidate in an approaching election. While the practice does not follow any legal dictate, it is simply at the discretion of the prosecution with the approval of the court.
Festus Ogun, a constitutional lawyer, described the SSS request as having no legal basis and an abuse of judicial process. He argued that the SSS could have discontinued or withdrawn the case.
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SSS defends move
In a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the SSS counsel, Mr Kehinde, explained that the agency’s request is backed by international conventions in which Nigeria is a signatory.
He listed the conventions as ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, AU Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), among others.
READ ALSO: SSS to seek suspension of Sowore’s cyberstalking trial amid growing 2027 electioneering
A quick read of these conventions did not reveal any provision that grants political candidates immunity from prosecution ahead of an election. However, they emphasise the need to protect the right to participate in public affairs, contest elections and ensure free, fair and credible elections. They also require any restriction on those rights to be based on objective, reasonable, lawful and proportionate grounds.
Therefore, prosecuting a candidate before an election is not, in itself, a violation of these conventions. The concern would arise if the prosecution is politically motivated, selectively applied, arbitrary, procedurally unfair or deliberately used to prevent an otherwise eligible candidate from participating in an election.
However, Mr Kehinde noted that granting the request is at the discretion of the court.
In a statement issued by its media unit, the SSS said the current request would be “formally communicated” to the Federal High Court from 14 September, when the court is expected to resume sittings after its annual vacation.
PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Kehinde what would happen if Mr Sowore emerged as president-elect, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said the case could be stayed for four years or more, as the case may be, due to the immunity enjoyed by a sitting president.
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