This Is Not Good News – AAC Rejects Suspension Of Sowore’s Trial

The African Action Congress (AAC) has rejected the suspension of the prosecution of the party’s presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, until after the 2027 presidential election.

The party demanded that the case should be formally discontinued rather than left pending.

They also demanded the immediate removal of the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi.

The AAC alleged that the agency had subjected Sowore to political harassment, persecution and violations of his fundamental rights.

Naija News reports that the party made its demands in a statement formally signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Rex I. Elanu.

“We do not consider the purported suspension of this needless case to be good news. In fact, there is no provision known to us in Nigerian criminal procedure that empowers a prosecutor simply to “suspend” a criminal trial and leave it hanging over an accused person indefinitely. The proper course is to discontinue the prosecution,” it stated.

The party also questioned the legal basis for indefinitely suspending a criminal trial, saying it was not aware of any provision in Nigerian criminal procedure that permits a prosecutor to simply place a criminal case on hold.

The AAC alleged that the prosecution was politically motivated and was an abuse of state power in response to Sowore’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu.

The party therefore called on the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to discontinue the case and ensure it could not be revived after the election as a political instrument.

The AAC also demanded an apology and compensation for Sowore over the legal expenses, time and disruption it said resulted from the prosecution, while urging the DSS to comply with any outstanding court orders imposing monetary penalties or costs against the agency.