AAC rejects DSS suspension of Sowore’s case, gives reason

The African Action Congress (AAC) has dismissed claims that the Department of State Services (DSS) has suspended the case against their presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore. In a statement released on Sunday, AAC's National Publicity Secretary, Rex Elanu, urged the DSS to halt the prosecution of Sowore immediately. This demand followed reports that the secret police had put the case on hold until after the 2027 presidential election.

The DSS had instructed its private counsel, Akinolu Kehinde, SAN, to take steps to suspend the alleged cyberbullying case against Sowore until after the 2027 election. This move came following a meeting between the DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, senior legal officials, and other key personnel.

However, AAC did not find the reported suspension of the case satisfactory. The opposition party argued that Nigerian criminal procedure does not permit indefinite suspension of a criminal trial. They emphasized that there is no provision in Nigerian criminal procedure that allows a prosecutor to 'suspend' a criminal trial indefinitely, leaving the accused person hanging over the proceedings.

AAC considered the purported suspension of the case against Sowore as insufficient and not a positive development. The AAC viewed the decision as a belated admission that the prosecution had become an embarrassing political burden for the DSS and the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.