June 25, 2026
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Fresh allegations have emerged against the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Ajayi, over the detention conditions of activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
Sources familiar with the matter alleged that Sowore was deliberately placed in a section of the prison considered unsafe, with the aim of creating grounds for his eventual transfer into DSS custody.
According to the sources, the alleged plan involves Sowore’s legal team raising concerns over his detention conditions in court, after which the DSS could seek a court order allowing the activist to be remanded in its custody.
One source claimed that the arrangement was intended to place Sowore directly under the control of the secret police, although the DSS has not publicly responded to the allegation.
The claims come amid growing concerns about Sowore’s welfare at the Kuje Correctional Centre following reports that he is being held in a cell alongside inmates reportedly suffering from tuberculosis.
Sources within the facility alleged that one inmate sharing the cell block recently died, while another is battling spinal tuberculosis, raising fears over the health risks posed by the detention conditions.
Human rights advocates and prison sources have expressed concern that exposing inmates to communicable diseases could endanger their lives and reflects broader challenges facing healthcare services within Nigeria’s correctional facilities.
The latest concerns follow reports of recent inmate deaths allegedly linked to inadequate medical care and delays in accessing treatment at the correctional centre.
Sowore was remanded in prison on Monday after Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja revoked his bail in an ongoing case filed by the DSS. The activist is being prosecuted over comments in which he described President Bola Tinubu as “a criminal.”
The court had initially scheduled June 24 for a ruling on Sowore’s application for bail restoration but later adjourned the matter until June 30, 2026.
The controversy also follows an incident at the Federal High Court in Abuja where DSS operatives were seen physically dragging Sowore shortly before he was taken into the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service. Following public criticism, the DSS announced that its Director-General had ordered an investigation into the conduct of officers involved in the incident.
However, some of the sources who spoke on the matter questioned the sincerity of the investigation, maintaining that concerns remain over Sowore’s treatment and detention conditions.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the DSS nor the Nigerian Correctional Service had publicly addressed the specific allegations regarding Sowore’s placement within Kuje Correctional Centre.
SUNTV Global Channel will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as more information becomes available.
