RismadarVoice Reporters
October 14, 2026
Human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has filed a ₦5 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Department of State Services (DSS), its Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, over an alleged assault and forcible removal from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suit, filed on October 13, 2026, and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2480/2026, challenges the conduct of DSS operatives during an incident allegedly involving Sowore at the court premises on June 22, 2026.
Sowore is asking the court to declare the alleged actions unlawful and unconstitutional, arguing that they violated his fundamental rights, including his rights to dignity and personal liberty.
Also named in the suit is DSS Deputy Director Benjamin Bulus, whom Sowore accused of leading the operation.
According to the court documents, the incident occurred after Justice Mohammed Garba Umar ordered Sowore’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing of his application for a stay of execution of an earlier order revoking his bail and issuing a bench warrant against him.
Sowore alleged that while awaiting correctional officials who were expected to take him into custody, armed DSS personnel entered the fourth floor of the court building.
He claimed that some of the operatives, including individuals whose faces were covered, confronted and physically assaulted him before forcibly taking him to the basement of the court complex against his will.
The activist maintained that the alleged treatment constituted a violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights and warranted judicial intervention.
He is seeking ₦5 billion in damages against the respondents over the alleged violations.
The allegations remain unproven, and the court has yet to determine the merits of the suit.
The responses of the DSS and the other named respondents to the allegations were not contained in the available court account.
