Nigeria’s ambassador, Reno Omokri, has explained why he once described President Bola Tinubu as a “drug lord,” saying the claim was based on information he believed to be true at the time but later found to be false.
Omokri reacted to comments made during the ongoing trial of activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The issue came up on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, when Sowore’s lawyer, Mr Abubakar Marshal, questioned why Omokri was cleared by the Department of State Services (DSS) for an ambassadorial appointment despite previously making damaging allegations against Tinubu on national television.
In a statement on Wednesday, Omokri acknowledged making the remarks but said he later publicly withdrew them after discovering they were untrue.
“With regard to the claims made by Mr Omoyele Sowore and his counsel in court, I 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 wrote.
He explained that subsequent findings showed the claims were false, prompting him to retract the statements both in writing and through video messages on multiple platforms.
“After discovering that those statements were not, in fact, true, I publicly withdrew them at various times and through several channels,” he added.
Omokri further stated that he accepted Tinubu as President of Nigeria on May 29, 2023, the day he was sworn in, and called on Nigerians to move forward in the interest of national unity.
The clarification followed renewed public attention generated by Sowore’s trial and the references made to Omokri’s past comments during court proceedings.
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