A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, admitted as evidence a video clip in which former presidential aide and ambassadorial nominee, Reno Omokri, described President Bola Tinubu as a “drug lord.”
The development occurred during the ongoing trial of human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, who faces charges of cyberstalking.
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Justice Mohammed Umar ruled that the video could be admitted, dismissing objections from counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN. The judge held that the defence complied with the requirements for tendering electronically generated evidence under Section 84 of the Evidence Act.
The clip was presented during the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness (PW1), DSS operative Cyril Nosike, by Sowore’s lawyer, Abubakar Marshal. Sowore is facing a two-count charge under Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, over social media posts allegedly describing President Tinubu as a “criminal.”
Sowore’s legal team argued that Omokri had once made similar disparaging remarks about Tinubu on national television yet faced no prosecution, raising concerns of a double standard in the application of the law.
Reacting to the court proceedings, Omokri dismissed the comparison as illogical. He acknowledged that he had previously made “uncomplimentary remarks” about Tinubu but stressed that he later discovered the statements were false and publicly retracted them in writing and on video across multiple platforms.
“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, believing them to be true at the time,” Omokri said.
He added that after the Supreme Court dismissed election petitions against Tinubu, he reaffirmed the President’s legitimacy on May 29, 2023, and again on October 26, 2023, urging Nigerians to move forward.
Omokri further disclosed that he apologised to Tinubu privately in October 2024, flying in from California to prostrate before him. He has also publicly admitted his error in multiple television interviews, including on TVC, News Central Television, and Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Therefore, Mr Sowore cannot rely on statements I made between 2022 and 2023, which I publicly withdrew in 2023, as a defence for statements he made in August 2025,” Omokri said. “I again affirm today that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord. I make these statements voluntarily, freely, and of my own volition, and I am fully prepared to testify under oath.”
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