The trial of former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as his lawyer confronted the Department of State Services over the clearance of former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, despite his past description of President Bola Tinubu as a “drug lord” on national television.
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At the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, Sowore’s counsel, Mr Marshal Abubakar, tendered a flash drive containing video clips of Omokri during the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, Mr Cyril Nosike, a DSS operative.
When the clips were played in open court, one showed Omokri in a 2023 interview on ARISE News, where he claimed to have documentary evidence that Tinubu was a “drug lord.”
“Drug lord is not an unprintable name. Bola Tinubu is a known drug lord. I’ve got documents to back it up. I spent my money, went to Chicago, went to court, and got certified true copies. Bola Tinubu is a drug lord,” Omokri was heard saying.
Another clip showed him declaring that he would never work with Tinubu.
Following the playback, Abubakar asked the DSS witness why Omokri was cleared for an ambassadorial appointment by the agency despite making such grave allegations against the President.
The witness told the court that he had no answer to the question.
Although the prosecution counsel, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), objected to the admissibility of the exhibits, the trial judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, overruled him and admitted them in evidence.
Sowore is standing trial on a two-count amended charge of cybercrime for describing Tinubu as a “criminal” in a social media post made on August 25, 2025, after the President claimed during a visit to Brazil that his administration had ended corruption in Nigeria.
The DSS had written to X (formerly Twitter) and Meta Platforms Inc., demanding that Sowore’s accounts be banned and the post deleted.
It also wrote directly to the activist, asking him to take down the publication.
The charge followed after both Sowore and the platforms refused to comply.
The prosecution alleged that the post was intended to cause a breakdown of law and order and to damage the image and reputation of Tinubu.
Among other exhibits tendered were printouts of Sowore’s posts on X and Facebook, as well as the DSS letters to the platforms.
During cross-examination, Abubakar also questioned the DSS witness about whether the agency had interviewed Tinubu or obtained a statement from him regarding the alleged impact of Sowore’s post.
The witness said he did not, and also could not confirm whether the President was aware of the publication.
The court fixed February 4 for continuation of the trial.
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