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Human rights activist and former AAC presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, on Tuesday presented a video in which former presidential aide Reno Omokri referred to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as an “international drug baron” during proceedings at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Sowore is standing trial for allegedly cyberstalking President Tinubu and calling him a “criminal,” in a case brought by the Department of State Services (DSS).
At the resumed hearing before Justice Mohammed Umar, defence counsel Abubakar Marshal commenced cross-examination of the prosecution’s first witness, Cyril Nosike (PW1), a DSS operative.
During cross-examination, Marshal questioned the witness on whether the DSS, as part of its statutory duties, conducts security and background checks on individuals nominated for sensitive positions such as ambassadors, ministers, and judges. Nosike responded that he was not aware if the service carried out such assignments.
The witness was further asked why the DSS cleared Reno Omokri for an ambassadorial nomination despite calling President Tinubu an “international drug baron.”
Nosike stated that he could not explain the reason for Omokri’s clearance.
Nosike also surprised the court when questioned about a public statement made by President Tinubu, in which the President said he would protect the constitutional right of any Nigerian to insult, abuse, or call him names.
When asked whether he was aware of such a statement, the witness offered no definitive response.
Marshal then queried why the DSS proceeded to file charges against Sowore if the President had publicly committed to protecting free speech rights under the Constitution.
Following this, the defence sought the court’s permission to admit two video clips as evidence: one showing Omokri’s “international drug baron” comment, and another showing President Tinubu affirming the public’s right to freely criticize him.
Counsel for the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, objected to the move, arguing that the defence was “playing to the gallery” and that the questions were unnecessary.
He further opposed the admissibility of the video evidence on the grounds that the individual who produced the videos was not listed as a witness and therefore could not tender them in court.
Kehinde urged the court to reject the evidence, cautioning against what he described as an attempt to “smuggle” the videos into the proceedings.
In a bench ruling, Justice Umar, after briefly examining the relevance of the materials in line with the Evidence Act 2023 admitted the video clips as exhibits.
The case was adjourned to February 4, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination.
In December 2025, the Senate confirmed 64 ambassadorial nominees of President Bola Tinubu, including Reno Omokri.
The confirmation came after the President’s nominations were considered and a report from the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs was adopted, which stated that all nominees had been screened and deemed suitable for appointment.
