A former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has responded to issues raised during the ongoing trial of activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, clarifying his past comments about President Bola Tinubu and defending his clearance by the Department of State Services for an ambassadorial appointment.
Omokri’s reaction followed proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, where Sowore’s counsel, Abubakar Marshal, questioned the DSS over why Omokri was cleared for a diplomatic role despite previously making disparaging remarks about Tinubu on national television.
In a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, Omokri addressed the claims raised in court, admitting that he had, at the time, made uncomplimentary statements about Tinubu during the 2022–2023 election period. He explained, however, that those remarks were based on information he believed to be true at the time but later discovered to be false.
“With regard to the claims made by Mr Omoyele Sowore and his counsel in court on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, I do freely admit that I made uncomplimentary remarks about the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, while believing those comments to be true at the time,” Omokri said.
He added that after further investigation, he realised the allegations were unfounded and subsequently withdrew the statements publicly through written publications and video broadcasts across multiple platforms.
Omokri noted that he formally recognised Tinubu as President of Nigeria on May 29, 2023, the day of his inauguration, urging Nigerians to move past the divisive rhetoric of the election season and support the new administration.
“On the day Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I released a statement affirming him as President and called on Nigerians to put the past behind them,” he stated.
He further said that he reaffirmed this position on October 26, 2023, following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of petitions challenging Tinubu’s election. According to Omokri, the apex court’s ruling, which held that there were no criminal charges or convictions against the President, prompted him to fully reassess and renounce his earlier claims.
“Based on that verdict, my stance changed completely. I came to the conclusion that the statements I had made were not only wrong but entirely fallacious,” he said.
Omokri disclosed that he later granted interviews on several television platforms, including TVC, News Central Television and Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he publicly apologised for the remarks and admitted that he had been mistaken.
“I told the Nigerian public and the world during live broadcasts that I was wrong about those statements I made about the then candidate,” he added.
Beyond public apologies, Omokri revealed that he also offered a private apology to President Tinubu in October 2024. He said he travelled from the United States to Nigeria and apologised in person.
“I flew into Nigeria from my home in California and apologised to him personally,” he said.
Addressing the legal argument raised during Sowore’s trial, Omokri maintained that statements he made between 2022 and 2023, which he later retracted, could not be relied upon as a defence for publications made by Sowore in August 2025.
“Mr Sowore cannot rely on statements I made and publicly withdrew years earlier as justification for statements he made much later,” Omokri argued.
He cited Phipson on Evidence to support his position, noting that prior statements that have been withdrawn cannot be tendered as proof of the truth of the matters asserted.
Omokri once again denied allegations linking President Tinubu to drug trafficking, insisting that the claims were false.
“I again affirm that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord,” he stated, adding that he was prepared to testify to this position under oath in court.
His statement followed dramatic scenes 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, Cyril Nosike, Sowore’s lawyer tendered a flash drive containing video clips of Omokri’s past media appearances.
One of the clips, from a 2023 ARISE News interview, showed Omokri alleging that Tinubu was a “known drug lord,” while another featured him stating that he would never work with Tinubu. After the videos were played in court, Sowore’s counsel questioned why the DSS had cleared Omokri for an ambassadorial appointment despite those remarks.
Although the prosecution counsel objected to the admissibility of the exhibits, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, overruled the objection and admitted them in evidence.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter to February 4, 2026, for continuation of trial.
