Sowore Drags DSS DG, AGF, Others To Court, Demands ₦5 Billion

Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has filed a ₦5 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Department of State Services (DSS) over an alleged assault and forcible removal from the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Naija News reports that the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2480/2026, was instituted on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, against the DSS, its Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi and a deputy director of the security agency, Benjamin Bulus.

Sowore alleged that DSS operatives assaulted and forcibly removed him from the court premises on June 22, 2026, despite an existing judicial order directing that he be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.

He disclosed that the alleged assault occurred after Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered his remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of his application seeking a stay of the order revoking his bail and the bench warrant issued against him.

According to him, armed DSS operatives, including men and women wearing hoods, stormed the fourth floor of the court building while he was waiting for correctional officers to arrive and implement the remand order.

The activist alleged that the operatives physically assaulted him, forcibly removed him from the area and transported him against his will to the basement of the court complex using elevators reserved for Federal High Court judges, thereby resulting in physical injuries.

He maintains that the remand order did not authorise the security operatives to assault him, forcibly remove him or subject him to degrading treatment within the court premises.

Sowore is asking the court to determine whether the DSS operatives acted outside the scope of the judicial order and whether their conduct violated his fundamental rights.

The presidential candidate is seeking ₦5 billion in aggravated damages for alleged violations of his constitutional rights to dignity and personal liberty.

A significant part of the case concerns video footage allegedly recorded during the incident using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

According to the court processes, the recording forms part of the evidence Sowore intends to rely on to establish the circumstances of the alleged assault and the conduct of the operatives involved.