Lawyer Temokun Tells DSS To Drop Sowore Case, Focus On Nigeria’s Insecurity, Says Harsh Political Criticism Is Not A Crime | Sahara Reporters

He argued that if the DSS refused to withdraw the case, the Attorney General of the Federation should intervene and discontinue the prosecution.

Lawyer and public advocate Tope Temokun has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) to withdraw its criminal case against African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, arguing that his description of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “criminal” should be viewed within the context of political criticism and accountability.

Temokun, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the DSS should discontinue the case rather than merely suspend the proceedings until after the 2027 presidential election.

He argued that if the DSS refused to withdraw the case, the Attorney General of the Federation should intervene and discontinue the prosecution.

“The wise thing for the DSS to do is to withdraw this case entirely. If they do not, the Attorney General of the Federation should intervene and discontinue it,” Temokun said.

He said Sowore’s statement about Tinubu was political criticism and did not warrant the level of state prosecution that had followed it.

“The statement credited to Omoyele Sowore describing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a criminal should in my view be understood within the context of political criticism and accountability. It is simply not as grave as the national prosecution that has been built around it,” he said.

Temokun’s statement followed the DSS decision to suspend its prosecution of Sowore until after the 2027 presidential election.

The case arose from social media posts made by Sowore in 2025 in which he referred to President Tinubu as a “criminal.”

The DSS reportedly directed its lawyers to suspend the proceedings after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) lifted the ban on presidential campaign activities on August 19, 2026.

The decision has been mocked by Sowore, who described it as a victory for resistance and accused the security agency of being forced to “eat humble pie.”

Temokun argued that the decision to suspend the case because Sowore is a presidential candidate made little sense, insisting that his status as a political opponent is precisely why the prosecution should be discontinued.

“Does the DSS only now realise that Sowore is a political opponent? If his participation in the election is sufficient reason to suspend the trial then it is an even stronger reason to withdraw the charge entirely,” he said.

“The DSS should tarry no further. It should withdraw the case outright.”

The lawyer also questioned the government’s decision to devote significant prosecutorial resources to Sowore’s case while Nigerians continue to face widespread insecurity.

He cited banditry, kidnapping, illegal mining and killings across different parts of the country, arguing that the government should be more concerned with addressing those threats.

“Look around the country. Banditry and kidnapping continue across the North and other parts of Nigeria. Illegal mining is destroying communities and there are allegations that some acts of banditry provide cover for dangerous and dubious capitalists involved in illegal mining,” Temokun said.

He added that killings continued in the Southeast, Benue and other parts of the country while many of those responsible were rarely brought to justice.

“Our roads have become death traps. Once a loved one sets out on a Nigerian road no relative is completely at peace until the news comes that the person has arrived safely. Sadly many who set out never arrive,” he said.

Temokun said the continued insecurity had become so widespread that Nigerians were increasingly becoming desensitised to killings, disappearances and kidnappings.

“Perhaps the most frightening part is that our skin as Nigerians has become so thick that we are getting used to these things,” he said.

“People are murdered on the roads. Bodies are abandoned in the bushes. Citizens disappear into kidnappers’ dens. We grieve and move on as though these deaths have become too ordinary to provoke us into demanding greater accountability from those entrusted with the security of the country.”

He questioned whether the President should not be held politically accountable for the security situation under his administration.

“Did the President not swear an oath to protect us?” he asked.

Temokun dismissed arguments that insecurity predates the Tinubu administration, saying the government could not use the historical nature of the problem as an excuse for failing to address it.

“Party loyalists will quickly remind us that insecurity did not start under this President. Fine. But that cannot be an excuse,” he said.

“That it did not start under him does not absolve his government of responsibility. That it has not stopped under him is enough reason for outrage. A government does not inherit insecurity as an excuse. It inherits the responsibility to confront it.”

The lawyer also raised concerns about the safety of young Nigerians participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), noting that the scheme is administered under the Presidency and that corps members are routinely required to travel across the country.

“Even the NYSC scheme is administered under the Presidency. Young Nigerians answer the national call and are sent across a country whose roads the government cannot sufficiently secure,” he said.

Temokun argued that political opponents should be allowed to criticise the government’s handling of insecurity, even when such criticism is harsh or offensive.

“If the President cannot be held politically accountable for the insecurity and crimes suffered by citizens under his watch, who else should political opponents hold accountable?” he asked.

He said the President, as head of the Federal Government, bears significant constitutional responsibility for national security and should expect political criticism over the country’s security challenges.

“The President heads the Federal Government and bears enormous constitutional responsibility for national security. Political opponents are entitled to hold him politically accountable for the insecurity and lawlessness and organised criminality confronting the country,” Temokun said.

He further argued that harsh political speech should ordinarily be answered through public debate rather than criminal prosecution.

“Whether one agrees with Sowore’s choice of words or considers them excessive is beside the point. Political speech is sometimes unpleasant. It can be provocative. It can even be offensive,” he said.

“The answer to harsh political criticism should ordinarily be more speech and public debate rather than deploying the prosecutorial power of the State against a political opponent.”

Temokun maintained that anyone occupying the country’s highest political office should be prepared to face severe criticism over the conditions confronting citizens.

“You cannot preside over a country where citizens are kidnapped from the roads and murdered in the bushes and communities live at the mercy of armed criminals then expect political opponents to describe your leadership only in flattering language,” he said.

He therefore urged the DSS and the Attorney General of the Federation to bring the matter to an end rather than leave the prosecution hanging over Sowore during the election period.