Trending 
African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has accused operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) of subjecting him to discriminatory treatment during the signing ceremony of the 2027 National Peace Accord in Abuja.
Sowore made the allegation in a post on X, saying he was stopped at the entrance to the event and asked to produce his invitation letter, despite being recognised as a presidential candidate.
He said the incident reflected what he described as a culture within Nigeria’s security agencies of treating politicians based on the size of their entourages and security details.
“As is typical of Nigeria’s security agencies, once you don’t arrive surrounded by a convoy of expensive automobiles and heavily armed escorts, they assume you are nobody,” Sowore said.
According to him, one DSS operative demanded to see his invitation letter after he arrived at the National Peace Committee’s peace accord signing event.
Sowore alleged that another presidential candidate who arrived with a long convoy was allowed into the venue without similar questioning.
“While this was going on, another presidential candidate swept in with his long convoy and was ushered through without any of this harassment,” he said.
He further alleged that security officials told him his staff and camera crew would not be allowed in.
Sowore said he refused to accept what he described as discriminatory treatment.
He argued that all presidential candidates attending the peace accord should be treated equally, regardless of their security arrangements or political status.
“If this is supposed to be a ‘Peace Accord’ involving presidential candidates, then every candidate must be treated with equal dignity and respect,” Sowore said.
He added that treatment of candidates should not be determined “according to the size of their convoy, the number of security vehicles around them, or how much privilege they display.”
Sowore said he insisted on his rights and rejected what he described as intimidation and arbitrary treatment by security agencies.
He called for an end to what he described as “this culture of intimidation, class discrimination, and arbitrary treatment by Nigeria’s security agencies.”
Presidential candidates signed the National Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general election on Tuesday, committing to peaceful campaigns and respect for the electoral process.
As is typical of Nigeria’s security agencies, once you don’t arrive surrounded by a convoy of expensive automobiles and heavily armed escorts, they assume you are nobody.
Today, I arrived at the National Peace Committee’s Peace Accord signing event, only to be blocked at the… pic.twitter.com/ZezOHtpu6V
— Omoyele Sowore (@sowore) August 19, 2026
