Former presidential aide, Mr. Bemigho Reno Omokri, has issued a detailed response to statements allegedly made against him by activist and publisher, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, through his lawyer, Mr. Abubakar Marshal, during court proceedings on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
In a statement, Omokri admitted that he made uncomplimentary remarks about then-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, between 2022 and 2023, explaining that he believed the claims to be true at the time. However, he stated that he later discovered the allegations were false and subsequently withdrew them publicly through written statements and video broadcasts across multiple platforms.
Omokri noted that on May 29, 2023, the day President Tinubu was sworn in, he publicly recognised him as President of Nigeria and called on Nigerians to move past the election period and support the new administration. He said he reaffirmed this position on October 26, 2023, following the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed all petitions challenging Tinubu’s election and declared that there were no criminal charges or convictions against the President.
According to Omokri, he accepted and applauded the Supreme Court ruling on the same day it was delivered, stating that the verdict clarified issues that had previously been misrepresented in the media. He added that two days later, during a television interview on TVC, he described the judgment as righteous and commended the Justices for adhering to the rule of law.
He further disclosed that in subsequent media appearances, including interviews on News Central Television in March 2025 and Channels Television’s Politics Today in June 2025, he publicly admitted that his earlier statements were wrong, explaining that they were based on false media publications. Omokri said he deliberately used the term “exonerated” to describe the President’s legal standing, stressing that the Supreme Court’s judgment had absolved Tinubu of any wrongdoing.
Omokri also revealed that he privately met with President Tinubu on October 1, 2024, during which he apologised in person, stating that he had been misled by inaccurate media reports and that his earlier comments were not made with malicious intent.
Addressing the legal issues raised in court, Omokri argued that it is contrary to established legal principles, including the rule against hearsay, to rely on statements that had been made in good faith but later found to be false and publicly withdrawn. He cited authorities from common law jurisprudence to support his position that such statements cannot be tendered as evidence of the truth of the matters asserted.
He maintained that Mr. Sowore could not rely on statements he made and withdrew between 2022 and 2023 to justify remarks allegedly made in August 2025, noting that similar allegations had originated from Mr. Sowore and his platform, SaharaReporters, many years earlier.
Reaffirming his position, Omokri stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu “is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord,” describing the President as a man of good character and high moral standing, with the capacity to lead Nigeria’s diverse population.
Omokri concluded by stating that he made the clarifications voluntarily and is prepared to testify under oath in court, supported by documentary and timestamped evidence, to substantiate his claims.
