{"id":122576,"date":"2025-09-28T16:28:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T15:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=122576"},"modified":"2025-09-28T16:28:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T15:28:19","slug":"dss-intensifies-crackdown-on-sowore-moves-cybercrime-charges-to-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/dss-intensifies-crackdown-on-sowore-moves-cybercrime-charges-to-court\/","title":{"rendered":"DSS Intensifies Crackdown on Sowore, Moves Cybercrime Charges to Court"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
The Department of State Services (DSS) has intensified its confrontation with Sahara Reporters publisher and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, by dragging him before the Federal High Court in Abuja\u00a0 over alleged cybercrime charges.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In a statement posted on his verified Facebook page, Sowore accused the DSS, led by its Director-General, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, of waging a \u201cfull-blown war\u201d against him following Sahara Reporters\u2019 recent expos\u00e9s on the agency\u2019s internal crisis.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He alleged that the DSS had petitioned social media platforms to take down his posts while deploying operatives to harass his associates.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The activist linked the move to a publication by Sahara Reporters claiming that a recent promotion examination within the DSS resulted in the deaths of eight officers, sparking unrest in the agency.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0Sowore said the DSS boss had since launched a clampdown on officers suspected of leaking information, while surveillance around his own circle had been intensified.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cSources reached out to me and warned bluntly, \u2018These people have a plan to assassinate you, and the DSS is providing technical assistance,\u2019 Sowore wrote.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He recalled a similar ordeal during the Muhammadu Buhari administration when DSS operatives allegedly attempted to assassinate him inside a courtroom in Abuja.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sowore also alleged that the current DSS chief had a long history of undercover operations dating back to his university days in Uniben.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Despite multiple court cases, Sowore said he remains undeterred in his activism and insists his battles are driven by a determination to expose what he described as the ills of the system.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
According to him, Justice M. Umar of the Federal High Court has fixed his arraignment on the DSS cybercrime charges for Tuesday, while another case filed by the Inspector-General of Police is slated for hearing on Monday before Justice M. S. Liman, who has withheld his international passport since January 2025.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sowore alleged that the seizure of his passport was a deliberate ploy to keep him restricted in Nigeria and vulnerable.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u201cIt was not about due process or the law. It was a calculated move to keep me trapped inside Nigeria, tied down and unable to travel, so they could do their worst,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As at the time of filing this report, the DSS had issued no reaction to Sowore\u2019s allegations. It’s left to be seen if the arraignment would proceed as alleged.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n