If Tinubu Is Not A Criminal, Why Will He Involve Your Agency? – Aisha Yesufu Blasts DSS

Member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aisha Yesufu, has challenged the Department of State Services (DSS) over its involvement in the comment made by the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, against President Bola Tinubu.

Naija News reports that Yesufu, in a social media post, reacted to a statement issued by the DSS regarding Sowore’s prosecution and remand.

The DSS in the statement said it filed charges against Sowore under the Cybercrimes Prohibition, Prevention, Amendment Act, 2024, over a social media post in which he allegedly referred to President Bola Tinubu as “this criminal”.

In the statement that prompted the reaction, the DSS maintained that Sowore’s remand was the outcome of court proceedings and insisted that the agency neither arrested him nor opposed his bail.

The agency also stated that it had filed charges seeking judicial interpretation of whether Sowore had the right to allegedly disparage and cyberbully the President through his social media posts.

Reacting to the development, Yesufu said Tinubu should seek redress in court if Sowore’s statement is false or defamatory, rather than involving the DSS.

She also criticised the focus of DSS on the matter amid the country’s security challenges.

She said, “Mr Sowore from this your statement said ‘this criminal’; in what way is it any of your business as an agency? If Mr Tinubu is not a criminal, why would that bother him to the extent of involving your agency? Why would that even trigger him?

“If Mr Tinubu feels it is not a truthful representation of who he is, why wouldn’t he go to court and sue? What is your business in all of this?

“The territorial integrity of Nigeria is under threat. Lives and properties are no longer safe in Nigeria and all that you focus on is that a citizen of Nigeria referred to Mr Tinubu as ‘this criminal’?”