Reno Omokri Admits Past Claims Against Tinubu Were False, Says He Withdrew Them

Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has responded to claims raised by Omoyele Sowore and his lawyer, Abubakar Marshal, during court proceedings on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, admitting that he once made damaging remarks about President Bola Tinubu but insisting that those statements were made in good faith and later fully withdrawn when found to be untrue.

In a detailed statement, Omokri said he had initially made the comments against Tinubu during the 2022–2023 election period, believing them to be accurate at the time. He, however, explained that he later discovered the claims were false and took steps to publicly retract them across multiple platforms, both in writing and on video.

According to him, “subsequent to making those statements, I discovered that they were not, in fact, true, and I publicly withdrew them.”

Omokri recalled that on May 29, 2023, the day Tinubu was sworn in as President, he issued a public statement recognising him as Nigeria’s leader and urged Nigerians to move past the election and support the new administration.

He said he reaffirmed this position on October 26, 2023, following the Supreme Court judgment that dismissed petitions challenging Tinubu’s election and confirmed that there were no criminal charges or convictions against him.

“The honourable court declared that there were no criminal charges or convictions against the President,” Omokri noted, adding that he accepted the judgment immediately and described it as righteous. He said he went further to defend the verdict during interviews on TVC and News Central Television, where he deliberately used the word “exonerated” to reflect the legal position established by the court.

He also disclosed that he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today in June 2025, where he openly admitted that he had relied on false media publications, including reports from Sahara reporters and statements by Sowore, when he made the earlier allegations.

“I admitted to the Nigerian public and the world at large that I was wrong,” he said, stressing that he apologised for the remarks.

Beyond public apologies, Omokri revealed that he sought a private meeting with President Tinubu on October 1, 2024, during which he personally apologised and explained that he had been misled by inaccurate media reports. He maintained that his actions were not malicious but based on mistaken beliefs at the time.

Addressing the legal arguments raised in court, Omokri argued that Sowore could not rely on statements he made years earlier and later withdrew as a defence for remarks made in August 2025. Citing established principles of evidence and a Privy Council ruling, he said, “former oral or written statements… may not be given in evidence if the purpose is to tender them as evidence of the truth of the matters asserted.”

Omokri concluded by restating his support for President Tinubu, declaring that “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord,” describing him as a man of good character and moral standing. He added that he made the statement voluntarily and was prepared to testify under oath, with documentary evidence, to back his claims.