Sowore Can’t Use My Withdrawn Claim That Tinubu Was A Drug Lord As Defence — Reno Omokri.
An Ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, has said that Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, cannot rely on a past claim he (Omokri) once made about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a defence in his ongoing cybercrime trial.
Omokri made this clarification while reacting to arguments circulating online suggesting that Sowore could cite his earlier comments on Tinubu to justify or mitigate the statements that led to his prosecution. According to Omokri, those claims were long withdrawn and publicly corrected, making them legally irrelevant to Sowore’s case.
Sowore is currently standing trial on a two-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS). The charges are linked to an August 25 post on X (formerly Twitter), in which Sowore described President Tinubu as a “criminal.” The post was made in reaction to comments by the president on corruption while on an official trip to Brazil.
Omokri stressed that his previous remarks about Tinubu were made years ago, retracted after further clarification, and should not be misrepresented or weaponised in a criminal proceeding involving another individual. He maintained that President Tinubu is not a drug lord and said any attempt to suggest otherwise using his withdrawn statements amounts to misinformation.
He further argued that Sowore’s case is about his own words and actions, not the past opinions of third parties, adding that freedom of expression does not extend to defamatory or allegedly criminal statements, especially when such statements are already the subject of a court process.
The DSS prosecution follows heightened scrutiny of online commentary and social media posts deemed capable of undermining public order or making unverified criminal allegations against public officials. The case has continued to attract public attention, with supporters and critics of Sowore debating issues of free speech, accountability, and the limits of political criticism in Nigeria.
As proceedings continue, legal analysts note that the court will focus strictly on the statements attributed to Sowore, the applicable provisions of the Cybercrimes Act, and whether the prosecution can establish its case beyond reasonable doubt.
