By Precious Mark
Human rights activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, has alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested and detained a journalist, Zainab Sodiq, to intentionally frustrate his ongoing court bail perfection and facilitate his return to the Kuje correctional centre.
Sowore made the disclosure on Thursday in a post on his Facebook page countering narratives that he was taken into custody over the unlawful possession of an aerial drone.
According to the activist, Sodiq was specifically targeted at the domestic terminal of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Monday because of her professional association with him and her custody of vital legal documents required by the court.
He explained that the journalist was traveling to Abuja to deposit his international passport with the court registrar to meet fresh bail conditions imposed on him by Justice M.G. Umar.
The former presidential candidate stated that the lead counsel to the security agency, A.T. Kehinde, SAN, had previously insisted on his remand at the Kuje facility, making the timely submission of the travel document highly critical.
“The real objective was to prevent Zainab from reaching Abuja with my International passport, frustrate the perfection of my bail, and create an excuse to send me back to the overcrowded Kuje Prison to get infected with tuberculosis.”
Clarifying the controversy surrounding the equipment, Sowore stated that the DJI Mavic Air drone seized by airport security belongs to him personally and is used strictly for commercial media coverage of elections and public events.
He revealed that despite his direct phone conversations with the personnel in Lagos to clarify ownership, Sodiq was trailed and abruptly taken into custody upon arriving at the agency’s headquarters to follow up on the matter.
The activist added that a defense attorney, Marshal Abubakar, immediately contacted the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, who initially described the detention as a routine screening exercise before the security agency changed its stance.
Sowore claimed that the leadership of the secret police became adversarial following the public exposure of the detention on social media platforms, rather than addressing the fundamental human rights of the citizen.
“This is what happens when personal ego is placed above citizens’ fundamental rights. Of course, this is part of a broader pattern of impunity: repression of critics, harassment of journalists and activists, and the use of state institutions against citizens who challenge those in power,” he said.
He further criticized the Director-General for allegedly placing personal considerations above constitutional duties, accusing the leadership of operating state apparatuses to suppress dissenting voices and intimidate working journalists.
Sowore concluded by demanding the immediate release of the detained journalist, maintaining that no amount of state-backed intimidation, propaganda, or institutional repression would deter citizens from challenging administrative excesses across the country.