A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday admitted video evidence showing Reno Omokri calling President Bola Tinubu a “drug lord” during the trial of activist Omoyele Sowore.
The clip — played in open court after Sowore’s lawyer tendered a flash drive during cross-examination of a DSS witness — was from a 2023 ARISE News interview in which Omokri said, “Drug lord is not an unprintable name. Bola Tinubu is a known drug lord. I’ve got documents to back it up.”
Prosecution counsel objected to the exhibits, but Justice Mohammed Umar overruled the objection and admitted the videos into evidence.
The court adjourned the matter until 4th February 2026 for continuation of the trial.
Sowore faces a two-count amended charge of cyberstalking and is accused of calling the president a “criminal” in an August 2025 post.
Omokri, an ambassador-designate, responded in a public statement saying he “freely admit[s] that I did make uncomplimentary remarks” but that he later “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.”
He said he had apologised publicly and privately, and argued Sowore “cannot rely on statements I made between 2022 and 2023, and then publicly withdrew in 2023” as a defence.
Omokri further invoked the rule against hearsay, saying previous statements “may not be given in evidence if the purpose is to tender them as evidence of the truth of the matters asserted.” His statement added that he was “fully prepared to testify… under oath in court.”
The handling of the Omokri clips deepened an already tense hearing, as lawyers debate evidentiary rules while the trial proceeds.
