Human rights activist and publisher Omoyele Sowore on Thursday alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) is preparing to arraign journalist Zainab Sodiq over an as-yet undisclosed offence.
He stressed that the move is a continuation of what he called her unlawful detention.
In a terse post on X, Sowore claimed that the decision to keep Sodiq in custody followed his public criticism of the agency’s handling of the case.
“We have been informed that the lawless DSS DG, Tosin Ajayi, now plans to charge journalist Zainab Sodiq to court for an unknown offence,” he wrote.
He added, “Her continued detention is essentially about the bruised ego of the DSS DG, who became angry after I exposed the DSS’s abuses and illegal detention of Zainab.”
The DSS had earlier confirmed detaining Sodiq, stating that she was stopped by aviation security officials and DSS operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on July 6 while travelling to Abuja with a drone allegedly lacking an End User Certificate required under existing regulations.
According to the Service, Sodiq acknowledged that she did not possess the necessary documentation and was initially allowed to continue her journey before being directed to report for further investigation.
Sowore, however, rejected the agency’s account, maintaining that the drone belongs to him and that Sodiq was transporting it in the course of her journalistic duties while covering his activities.
He further alleged that the operation was intended to delay the transfer of his international passport to Abuja, where it was needed to fulfil the bail conditions imposed on him by a Federal High Court.
While the DSS has defended its actions as part of its statutory mandate to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the interest of national security and public safety, it has yet to publicly respond to Sowore’s latest allegation that Sodiq is to be charged in court.
