Ogona Anita
Former presidential aide and ambassadorial nominee, Reno Omokri, has broken his silence following the admission in court of video evidence showing him previously describing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a “drug lord” during the ongoing cybercrime trial of activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
Omokri reacted in a statement issued on Wednesday, a day after the Federal High Court in Abuja admitted the video clips during proceedings in Sowore’s trial on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
The issue arose during cross-examination when Sowore’s lawyer, Mr. Abubakar Marshal, questioned the Department of State Services (DSS) on why Omokri was cleared for an ambassadorial appointment despite earlier remarks made against President Tinubu on national television
Responding, Omokri acknowledged making the statements in the past but insisted that he later discovered they were untrue and formally withdrew them.
“With regard to the claims made by Mr Omoyele Sowore and his counsel, Mr Abubakar Marshal, in court on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, I do freely admit that I did make uncomplimentary remarks about the then Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, while believing those comments to be true at the time I uttered them,” Omokri said
He added, “Subsequent to making those statements, I discovered that they were not, in fact, true, and I publicly withdrew them in writing and on video at various times and through multiple platforms.”
Omokri said he formally affirmed Tinubu as President on May 29, 2023—the day he was sworn in—and urged Nigerians to move beyond the political tensions of the election period.Opinion piece collection
“On the day that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria… I released a statement affirming him as President of Nigeria and urging members of the public to put the past behind them and give him their full support,” he stated.
He noted that he reiterated that position on October 26, 2023, after the Supreme Court dismissed petitions challenging Tinubu’s election.
“In that judgment, the honourable court declared that there were no criminal charges or convictions against the President,” Omokri said.
According to him, the Supreme Court ruling led him to completely reverse his earlier stance.
“Based on that verdict, my stance on the statements I had made against the President had changed: not only was it wrong, but I fully believed it was fallacious,” he said.
Omokri disclosed that he later granted interviews to TVC, News Central Television and Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he publicly apologised for his earlier claims.Digital newspaper access
“I admitted to the Nigerian public and the world at large during a live broadcast that I was wrong about those statements I made about the then-candidate,” he said.
He also revealed that he apologised personally to President Tinubu in October 2024.
“I flew into Nigeria from my home in California, and apologised to him in person, prostrating flat on the ground,” Omokri stated.
Addressing the legal arguments raised in court, Omokri insisted that Sowore could not rely on statements he had withdrawn years earlier to justify later publications.
“Therefore, Mr Sowore cannot rely on statements I made between 2022 and 2023, and then publicly withdrew in 2023, as a defence for statements he made in August 2025,” he said.
He further cited Phipson on Evidence, noting that “Former oral or written statements by any person… may not be given in evidence if the purpose is to tender them as evidence of the truth of the matters asserted.”
Reaffirming his position, Omokri again denied the allegation against President Tinubu.
“I again affirm today… that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord,” he said.
“I make these statements voluntarily, freely and of my own volition… and I am fully prepared to testify to the above under oath in court.”
Omokri’s reaction followed dramatic proceedings at the Federal High Court on Tuesday during Sowore’s trial on a two-count amended charge of cybercrime.
During cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, a DSS operative, Mr. Cyril Nosike, Sowore’s lawyer tendered a flash drive containing video clips of Omokri.
One of the clips showed Omokri during a 2023 interview on ARISE News saying, “Drug lord is not an unprintable name. Bola Tinubu is a known drug lord. I’ve got documents to back it up.”Digital newspaper access
Another clip showed him stating that he would never work with Tinubu.
After the videos were played in open court, Abubakar questioned why the DSS cleared Omokri for an ambassadorial appointment despite the remarks.
Although counsel to the prosecution, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the exhibits, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, overruled the objection and admitted them in evidence.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until February 4 for continuation of the trial.
