Olumide Fusika, the lead counsel to Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has asked the Department of State Services (DSS) to withdraw cybercrime charges against his client or hand it over to the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Fusika said
Sowore’s legal team was not notified of the DSS’ decision to seek adjournment
of the cybercrime trial before the development was reported in the media.
A DSS source told TheCable on Sunday that Tosin Ajayi, DSS
director-general, had directed the agency’s counsel to seek an adjournment of
the cybercrime case against Sowore until after the 2027 presidential election.
The source said the DSS boss informed Akinlolu Kehinde, the
agency’s counsel, that it is fair to allow Sowore to participate fully in the
2027 presidential election campaign.
FUSIKA FAULTS DSS’ MOVE
Speaking at the press conference, Fusika, a senior advocate
of Nigeria (SAN), said the DSS should have informed Sowore’s legal team of its
intention to seek an adjournment and formally applied to the court.
The counsel said the secret police was giving the impression
that the security agency had the authority to determine when court proceedings
should be held or suspended.
“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,”
the SAN said.
“The statement gives the impression that the DSS is the one
in control of the court. It determines when the court sits and when the court
does not sit.
“Based on that understanding, I would respectfully suggest
to the DSS to do either of two things. Instruct counsel to withdraw the charge
completely.
“If that is not going to be done, the alternative is to hand
it over to the office of the honourable attorney-general of the federation.
“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.”
The senior lawyer said the defense team will not oppose the
DSS in court if the application was properly filed.
The DSS is prosecuting Sowore on a two-count charge
bordering alleged cybercrime.
The charges stem from Sowore’s August 25 post on X, where he
described President Bola Tinubu as a “criminal” while reacting to the
president’s remarks on corruption during a trip to Brazil.
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