Reno Omokri Refutes Sowore’s Claims, Reaffirms Tinubu’s Integrity

Reno Omokri Refutes Sowore’s Claims, Reaffirms Tinubu’s Integrity

Former presidential aide Bemigho Reno Omokri has firmly rejected claims made against him by Mr Omoyele Sowore and his lawyer, Mr Abubakar Marshal, during court proceedings held on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, describing the allegations as misleading, legally untenable, and based on statements long withdrawn.

In a detailed statement released on Wednesday, Omokri acknowledged that he had made uncomplimentary remarks about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the 2022–2023 election period, stressing that he did so in good faith and based on information he believed to be accurate at the time. However, he explained that subsequent judicial findings proved those claims to be false.

Omokri stated that upon discovering the inaccuracies, he publicly withdrew the statements through written publications and video recordings across multiple platforms. He recalled that on May 29, 2023, the day President Tinubu was sworn in, he issued a public statement recognising Tinubu as the duly elected President of Nigeria and urged Nigerians to move forward in unity.

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He further noted that following the Supreme Court judgment of October 26, 2023, which dismissed all petitions against President Tinubu and confirmed that there were no criminal charges or convictions against him, he fully accepted the ruling and described the earlier allegations as “wrong and fallacious.”

According to Omokri, he reiterated this position in subsequent media appearances, including interviews on TVC, News Central Television, and Channels TV’s Politics Today, where he publicly admitted that he had relied on false media reports, particularly those published by SaharaReporters, owned by Sowore.

The former aide also disclosed that on October 1, 2024, he travelled from the United States to Nigeria to personally apologise to President Tinubu, stating that his earlier comments were not malicious but made under a mistaken belief influenced by media publications.

Addressing the legal basis of the ongoing dispute, Omokri argued that it is ultra vires and contrary to the rule against hearsay for Sowore to rely on statements he made years earlier and had since withdrawn, to justify comments allegedly made by Sowore in August 2025. He cited Phipson on Evidence and the landmark case of Teper v. R, emphasising that withdrawn statements cannot be used as proof of truth.

“I again affirm today, as I have consistently done since October 26, 2023, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord,” Omokri declared. He described the President as a man of “good character, high moral standing,” adding that his capacity for forgiveness makes him well suited to lead Nigeria’s diverse society.

Omokri concluded by stating that he made the declaration voluntarily and truthfully, and expressed readiness to testify under oath in court, with documentary and timestamped evidence to support his claims.

Reno Omokri Refutes Sowore’s Claims, Reaffirms Tinubu’s Integrity