Former presidential aide, Mr. Reno Omokri, has reacted to comments made during the ongoing trial of activist and former presidential candidate, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, following questions raised in court over his clearance by the Department of State Services (DSS) despite past remarks against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Omokri, in a statement made available to SOCIETYGIST Online on Wednesday, addressed claims attributed to Sowore and his lawyer, Mr. Abubakar Marshal, during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
The issue arose during cross-examination when Sowore’s counsel queried the DSS on why Omokri was cleared for an ambassadorial appointment despite previously describing Tinubu as a “drug lord” on national television.
Reacting, Omokri admitted that he made the remarks in the past but said he later discovered they were untrue and subsequently withdrew them publicly.
“With regard to the claims made by Mr. Omoyele Sowore and his counsel, Mr. Abubakar Marshal, in court on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, I 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,” Omokri said.
He added that after further inquiry, he realised the statements were false and formally retracted them across multiple platforms.
“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,” he stated.
Omokri said he affirmed Tinubu as President on May 29, 2023, the day of his swearing-in, and urged Nigerians to move past the campaign period.
“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 and called on Nigerians to give him their full support,” he said.
He noted that he reiterated the 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 stated, adding that he accepted the verdict and revised his earlier stance.
“Based on that verdict, my position on the statements I had made against the President changed. I believed they were wrong and entirely fallacious,” he said.
Omokri also disclosed that he publicly apologised during interviews on TVC, News Central Television and Channels Television’s Politics Today, admitting on live television that he was wrong.
He further revealed that he apologised privately 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 said.
Addressing the legal arguments raised during the trial, Omokri argued that Sowore could not rely on statements he had withdrawn years earlier to justify later publications.
“Mr. Sowore cannot rely on statements I made between 2022 and 2023, and which I publicly withdrew in 2023, as a defence for statements he made in August 2025,” he said.
He cited Phipson on Evidence, noting that former oral or written statements may not be admissible to prove the truth of matters already retracted.
Omokri again denied the allegation against the President, insisting that it was false.
“I again affirm today that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord,” he said, adding that he was prepared to testify under oath.
The reaction 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, Mr. Cyril Nosike, Sowore’s lawyer tendered a flash drive containing video clips of Omokri.
One of the clips showed Omokri in a 2023 interview on ARISE News stating, “Drug lord is not an unprintable name. Bola Tinubu is a known drug lord. I’ve got documents to back it up.”
Another clip featured him saying he would never work with Tinubu.
Despite objections by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, admitted the video clips in evidence.
The court adjourned the matter until February 4 for continuation of the trial.
