The Department of State Services (DSS) has released Kayode Olawoye, an Ogun State-based pastor, and two of his companions who were jailed on Monday following public outrage.
Olawoye became an internet phenomenon after reporting on the bad state of various roads in Ogun State, which he had frequently brought to the attention of the state administration.
On Tuesday, a family source close to Olawoye verified his release to the press.
In a prior conversation with our correspondent, Olawoye’s family expressed anxiety about his imprisonment after he was supposedly invited by the DSS.
Speaking with our correspondent earlier on Tuesday, Olawoye’s wife, Shola Olawoye, stated that her husband received a phone call from the DSS on Sunday evening, requesting that he report to its Ogun State headquarters by 2 p.m. on Monday, January 19, 2026.
According to her, the officers referred to the invitation as a “friendly interrogation visit,” assuring him that it was not serious.
She said Olawoye arrived at the DSS office around 1:30 p.m. on Monday but was detained without being able to see his family members, and that several attempts to contact him failed.
She also mentioned that two other associates, Benjamin Olaleye and Joshua, who accompanied him to the DSS office, were also detained.
“I have not been able to speak with him since he entered the office. I don’t know his condition—whether he has eaten or even taken water. The people who went with him also had their phones seized, and we have not heard from any of them,” she said.
Shola stated that when she went to the DSS office to check about her husband’s wellbeing, she was advised to leave and return later, with assurances that he would be freed after questioning.
She noted that she waited until late Monday night and into Tuesday morning for an update on his status and that the imprisonment could be related to his ongoing campaign for the repair of road infrastructure throughout the state.
She continued, “This is a man who is fighting for grassroots governance. He is not a criminal. He is not fighting or abusing the governor. He is not anti-politics, anti-peace, or protesting. He is simply saying, ‘Our governor should fulfill his campaign promises.’ That is all he is doing, and I don’t understand when being civil became a crime in my state.
“I do not know when being civil and asking for your rights turned into a criminal offense. He has been detained as if he were a criminal. Bandits are on TikTok and everywhere, yet the DSS has not detained any of them.
However, they have detained my husband since yesterday. It has been almost 24 hours now, and I have not heard anything from him. I need the help of the whole of Nigeria.”
Another family member, who did not want to be identified, revealed that Olawoye had previously been invited twice and had always accepted.
According to a family source, this was Olawoye’s third DSS invitation, and he had previously been questioned for his public criticism of the state of Ogun State’s roads.
The source claimed that DSS authorities frequently asked him if he was sponsored to publicize the state’s inadequate road infrastructure, which Olawoye rejected, claiming that he had no sponsor.
“The first time he was invited, I was with him at the meeting. They asked who was sponsoring him to showcase the bad roads that Governor Dapo is not fixing. He replied that nobody was sponsoring him and that he was instructed by God to speak out about the bad roads so that the governor would fix them.
“The second time, they asked him the same question again—that he should name the people sponsoring him. He told them nobody was sponsoring him,” the family member said.
The announcement of his detention, however, provoked public outrage, with social media users denouncing the decision.
Amnesty International Nigeria decried Olawoye’s incarceration in a statement on Tuesday.
The human rights advocacy group described the detention as unlawful and an abuse of human rights.
The statement read, “The Nigerian authorities must end the incessant intimidation and harassment of Pastor Kayode Olawoye—a cleric widely known for advocating for better road infrastructure in Ogun State.
“Subjecting such a peaceful advocate for good governance to bizarre intimidation by the Department of State Services is unlawful. The advocacy of Pastor Kayode is justified given the shocking and deplorable state of roads in Ogun—his state. Criticizing Gov. Dapo Abiodun is not a crime.
“The authorities have an obligation to uphold and protect fundamental human rights. Instead of investing in desperate attempts to punish activists, the government should be listening to them and doing more to address people’s concerns.”
On Tuesday night, a family source confirmed that Olawoye and two associates had been released after over 24 hours in detention.
However, the State Director of the DSS in Ogun State, Peter Afunanya, did not respond to messages or phone calls.
Kayode Akinmade, the governor’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, asked our correspondent to call back when called on Tuesday.
He was not, however, reachable at the time this report was filed.
