A NEW book has shed fresh light on the behind-the-scenes tensions between former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the continued detention of human rights activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, despite repeated court orders for his release.
The revelations are contained in “I Write What I Like”, a newly published work by veteran journalist and rights advocate, Richard Akinnola sighted by News Point Nigeria.
The 198-page book, comprising twenty chapters, is a compilation of Akinnola’s widely followed Facebook essays spanning from 2017 to 2025.
According to Akinnola, the confrontation came to a head in 2019 during Sowore’s prolonged incarceration by the Buhari administration. The DSS had ignored multiple judicial pronouncements ordering Sowore’s release, drawing local and international criticism.
In the book, Akinnola recounted an encounter with Osinbajo in which the then Vice President expressed strong disapproval of the DSS’s defiance.
“I was aware of the previous efforts made by VP Osinbajo to get the DSS obey the court order, which almost led to a face-off with the security agency. Osinbajo said he had a job to go back to after leaving office and could not be around when such an order was being flouted,” Akinnola wrote.
The DSS, however, reportedly pushed back at Osinbajo’s pressure, warning that “there could not be two presidents”, a veiled reference to Osinbajo’s decisive move in 2018, when he sacked then-DG of DSS, Lawal Daura, while acting as president.
Despite this friction, Osinbajo’s persistence yielded results. On the very day Akinnola visited him to press for Sowore’s release, the activist was freed.
Akinnola revealed that beyond public advocacy, he often relied on discreet back-channel negotiations to secure the release of detainees, citing his involvement in the case of the detained Shiite leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who eventually secured bail through similar interventions.
The book is set to be unveiled on Saturday, September 13, at the Airport Hotel, Lagos, as part of Akinnola’s 67th birthday summit themed “A Handshake Across the Niger: The Yoruba/Igbo Détente.” The event will be chaired by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams.
The revelations add a new dimension to the public understanding of Osinbajo’s role during one of the most controversial human rights sagas under the Buhari administration.
