Human rights activist and SaharaReporters publisher Omoyele Sowore has filed a N5 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Department of State Services (DSS), its Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, and two other defendants over an alleged assault at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suit, filed on Tuesday and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2480/2026, relates to an incident that allegedly occurred on June 22, 2026. Sowore claimed that armed, hooded DSS operatives attacked him within the court premises, took him to the building’s basement and forcibly removed him from the complex.
His lawyer, Peter Joseph, alleged that the operatives acted outside the authority granted by the court’s remand order, leaving Sowore with injuries. The other defendants named in the suit are Benjamin Bulus, a DSS deputy director, and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
Sowore is asking the court to uphold his rights to dignity and personal liberty under Sections 34 and 35 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. He is seeking N5 billion in aggravated damages over the alleged assault, abduction, intimidation and violation of his fundamental rights, alongside declarations on the legality of the operation and other reliefs.
Joseph disclosed that footage of the incident, recorded using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, has been submitted as evidence.
On June 22, Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court ordered Sowore’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending a hearing on his challenge to the revocation of his bail. The judge had revoked his bail on June 16 and issued a bench warrant after the activist failed to appear for trial in a DSS case involving social media posts in which he called President Bola Tinubu “a criminal”.
In the latest suit, Sowore alleged that DSS operatives intervened while he was waiting for correctional officers to execute the remand order and forcibly removed him from the fourth floor of the court building.
The statement also referenced a December 2019 incident in which DSS operatives allegedly attempted to rearrest Sowore inside the Federal High Court during proceedings over treason-related charges linked to the #RevolutionNow protests.
It added that Sowore had previously obtained a judgment awarding him damages over the incident, but the DSS had yet to pay the amount awarded.