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Ambassador-designate Reno Omokri has acknowledged that he previously made critical statements about President Bola Tinubu but said he later discovered the allegations were false and formally withdrew them.
Omokri addressed the issue in a Facebook post on Wednesday, reacting to developments at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday during the trial of activist Omoyele Sowore over a two-count amended charge of cybercrime.
Tension rose in court during the cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness, Department of State Services operative Cyril Nosike, when Sowore’s lawyer tendered a flash drive containing video clips of Omokri.
One of the videos, from a 2023 ARISE News interview, showed Omokri 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.
Following the playback, Sowore’s lawyer, Marshal, questioned why the DSS cleared Omokri for an ambassadorial appointment despite the remarks.
Although prosecution counsel Akinlolu Kehinde objected to the admissibility of the exhibits, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, overruled the objection and admitted them into evidence.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter until February 4 for continuation of the trial.
Responding to the controversy, Omokri admitted making what he described as “uncomplimentary remarks” about Tinubu when he was the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “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.”
According to Omokri, on the day Tinubu was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he issued a public statement recognising him as President and urged Nigerians to move beyond the elections and support his administration.
He added that he reiterated this position on October 26, 2023 after the Supreme Court dismissed petitions challenging Tinubu’s election, noting that he had come to believe his earlier statements were fallacious.
Omokri further disclosed that he granted interviews to TVC, News Central Television and Channels Television’s Politics Today, during which he publicly apologised for the remarks.
He also said he privately apologised to Tinubu in October 2024 while “prostrating flat on the ground”.
He argued that his earlier statements could not be used in Sowore’s defence, stating, “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.”
Omokri also cited Phipson on Evidence, which holds that former oral or written statements may be inadmissible if tendered to prove the truth of the matters asserted.
Reaffirming his stance, he again denied the allegation against the President, saying, “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 to the above under oath in court,” he added.
NEWSIE Events reports that Omokri was nominated by President Tinubu for an ambassadorial position and has been screened and cleared by the Senate.
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