Sowore drags DSS, DG, AGF to Court, demands N5bn over alleged assault, abduction

Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a N5 billion fundamental rights suit against the Department of State Services (DSS), its Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, and two other defendants over an alleged assault.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2480/2026, was filed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Sowore is seeking N5 billion in damages over what he described as a brutal attack, abduction and forcible removal from the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja on June 22, 2026.

Other defendants in the suit are Benjamin Bulus, a deputy director of the DSS, and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.

The activist is asking the court to address the alleged violation of his fundamental rights arising from the incident.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Peter Joseph, Sowore’s counsel, said the activist alleged that armed, hooded DSS operatives attacked him inside the court complex and forcibly took him to the basement of the building.

Joseph said the operatives acted beyond the authority of the court order concerning Sowore’s remand, adding that the incident left the activist injured.

Joseph said the suit seeks to enforce Sowore’s rights to dignity and personal liberty, as guaranteed under sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Sowore is asking the court to award him N5 billion in aggravated damages over the alleged assault, abduction, intimidation and violation of his fundamental rights.

He is also seeking declarations on the legality of the operation and other consequential orders.

The statement said video footage recorded using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses forms part of the evidence submitted for the court’s consideration.

On June 22, Mohammed Umar, a judge of the federal high court in Abuja, ordered Sowore’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of his application challenging the revocation of his bail.

On June 16, the judge revoked Sowore’s bail and issued a bench warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for his trial in a DSS case over social media posts in which he referred to President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal”.

The DSS is prosecuting Sowore over the posts on his X and Facebook accounts. He had sought the judge’s recusal over alleged bias, but the application was dismissed on June 22.

In the new suit, Sowore alleged that DSS operatives intervened while he was awaiting correctional officers to implement the remand order, and that they forcibly removed him from the fourth floor of the court building.

The statement also recalled a December 2019 incident in which DSS operatives attempted to rearrest Sowore inside the federal high court in Abuja during proceedings over treason-related charges linked to the #RevolutionNow protests.

According to the statement, Sowore had previously obtained a judgement awarding damages against the DSS over that incident, but the agency had yet to comply with the monetary award.

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