A former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has responded to comments made during the ongoing trial of activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, following questions raised by Sowore’s lawyer over his clearance by the Department of State Services despite past remarks against President Bola Tinubu.

Omokri, in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Wednesday, addressed claims made in court by Sowore and his counsel, Mr Abubakar Marshal, during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

The issue arose during the trial when Sowore’s lawyer confronted the DSS over 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 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 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,” he 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 affirmed Tinubu as President on May 29, 2023, the day he was sworn in, and urged Nigerians to move on.

“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 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.

He said he accepted the ruling and changed his position on his earlier claims.

“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 said he later granted interviews to TVC, News Central Television and Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he publicly apologised.

“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 disclosed that he apologised to Tinubu privately 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 argument raised in court, Omokri said Sowore could not rely on statements he had withdrawn years earlier to defend 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 quoted from Phipson on Evidence, stating, “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.”

Omokri again denied the allegation against the President.

“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.”

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, DSS operative Mr Cyril Nosike, Sowore’s lawyer tendered a flash drive containing video clips of Omokri.

One clip showed Omokri in a 2023 ARISE News interview saying, “Drug lord is not an unprintable name. Bola Tinubu is a known drug lord. I’ve got documents to back it up.”

Another clip showed him stating that he would never work with Tinubu.

After the playback, Abubakar asked why the DSS cleared Omokri for an ambassadorial appointment despite the comments.

Although the prosecution counsel, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde, objected to the admissibility of the exhibits, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, overruled the objection and admitted them in evidence.

The court adjourned the matter till February 4 for continuation of trial. (PUNCH)

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