By Muhammad Mamman
Fresh revelations have emerged on how former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, confronted Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) during the controversial detention of activist Omoyele Sowore in 2019.
According to veteran journalist and author, Richard Akinnola, Osinbajo strongly opposed the agency’s refusal to obey a court order granting Sowore bail, an impasse that nearly escalated into an open confrontation.
The account is detailed in Akinnola’s forthcoming book, I Write What I Like, which chronicles pivotal political moments and behind-the-scenes manoeuvres during the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Akinnola recounted:
“At the height of Sowore’s detention, I sought an audience with Vice President Osinbajo, knowing he had previously pressed the DSS to comply with the court order. His insistence almost led to a standoff with the agency. Osinbajo told me he could not sit idly by while the rule of law was openly defied, reminding them he still had a career after public office. The DSS bluntly retorted that ‘there could not be two presidents,’ a veiled reference to his decisive dismissal of Lawal Daura as DSS Director-General when he was Acting President in 2018.
“Nonetheless, I pressed him again on the matter. He acted immediately, and by that very day, Sowore was released.”
The author also disclosed that he occasionally employed discreet, back-channel interventions in similar cases, including efforts that eventually led to bail being granted to the detained Shi’ite leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.
The 198-page, 20-chapter book is largely a compilation of Akinnola’s reflective writings and Facebook posts between 2017 and 2025.
I Write What I Like will be unveiled on Saturday, 13 September, at the Airport Hotel, Lagos, coinciding with Akinnola’s 67th birthday summit. Themed “A Handshake Across the Niger: Yoruba/Igbo Détente”, the event will be chaired by Iba Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.
