Activist Sowore: DSS Set to Arraign Zainab Sodiq Without Stated Offence

Omoyele Sowore, a prominent human rights advocate and the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential flag bearer, revealed on Thursday that the Department of State Services (DSS) intends to bring charges against the imprisoned journalist, Zainab Sodiq, for what he termed an 'unknown offence.' Sowore further alleged that Tosin Ajayi, the Director-General of the DSS, is pursuing this action due to personal spite, ignited by public outcry regarding the agency's management of Sodiq's custody. Based on intelligence Sowore claims to possess, the DSS is reportedly gearing up to present Sodiq in court, even though it has not specified any particular crime she is accused of committing.

On Thursday, Sowore quoted directly, saying, "We have been informed that the lawless DSS DG, Tosin Ajayi, now plans to charge journalist Zainab Sodiq to court for an unknown offence." The activist maintained that the ongoing confinement of the journalist stems not from any justifiable legal procedure but rather from the DSS Director-General's wounded pride and anger in response to public examination. Sowore explicitly stated, "Her continued detention is essentially about the bruised ego of the DSS DG, who became angry after I exposed the DSS’s abuses and illegal detention of Zainab."

Sowore has been a vocal critic of the DSS concerning Sodiq's incarceration, consistently labeling it as illegal and calling for her prompt freedom. Previous reports from SaharaReporters indicated that Sowore had accused Ajayi of masterminding assaults, tampering with legal proceedings, and authorizing a journalist's arrest as part of a wider campaign of harassment directed at him. Sowore publicly disclosed that DSS operatives had reportedly intensified their attempts to silence him subsequent to his recent detention at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

Sowore narrated that the DSS Director-General allegedly deployed agents to assault him at the Federal High Court, only for the agency to subsequently assert that it was investigating that very incident. He recounted, “The DG of the lawless DSS, Tosin Ajayi, sent his goons to attack me at the Federal High Court last week. When it backfired, he turned around to claim he was ‘investigating’ the same attack.”

Furthermore, the presidential aspirant detailed the occurrences that transpired after his release from Kuje Prison. The activist stated that A.T. Kehinde, SAN, the DSS prosecutor assigned to his matter, allegedly attempted to send him back to prison, even though he had already met all his bail requirements. Sowore quoted, “After I spent nine days in Kuje Prison, his prosecutor, A.T. Kehinde, SAN, tried to have me sent back by falsely claiming I had not perfected my bail.”

Sowore asserted that the relevant officials tasked with confirming his bail terms had verified that every condition was satisfied. However, he pointed out that the prosecutor reportedly still declined to endorse his sureties, contrary to the judge's instructions. He added, “When the Bail Unit confirmed that I had met the conditions, he still refused to certify my sureties as requested by the judge.”

The activist further explained that once attempts to re-incarcerate him proved unsuccessful, the DSS then targeted a journalist who had been reporting on his engagements. He remarked, “When that scheme failed, the DSS arrested Zainab Sodiq, the journalist covering my activities.” Sowore also claimed to be privy to information indicating that an arrangement had supposedly been made to guarantee his imprisonment, irrespective of the validity of his legal arguments.