A former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly and ex–Southeast spokesman for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has cautioned that granting security clearance to Mr. Reno Omokri for an ambassadorial position would inflict catastrophic damage on Nigeria’s institutions — beginning with the Department of State Services (DSS) and extending to the ongoing treasonable-felony case against activist Omoyele Sowore.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Onoh said clearing Omokri would “touch directly on national security, undermine the integrity of an ongoing treason prosecution, destroy the institutional reputation of the DSS, and injure Nigeria’s credibility before the world.”
Onoh confirmed that Omokri is among nominees currently undergoing DSS screening, describing a potential clearance as “a grave national error whose consequences Abuja must not underestimate.”
“Validating Omokri Means Collapsing the Sowore Case”
Onoh drew a direct connection between Omokri’s history of public accusations and the prosecution of Omoyele Sowore, who was charged by the DSS for describing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “a criminal.”
He insisted the contrast between both cases is stark:
“While Sowore made broad, unspecified comments, Mr. Reno Omokri went much further,” he said.
According to Onoh:
“On numerous occasions — especially between 2022 and 2024 — Mr. Omokri openly declared President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be a ‘drug baron’ and narcotics trafficker. He claimed to possess documentary proof and even challenged the President to sue him, boasting that he would ‘expose everything’ in court.”
These allegations, Onoh said, were “globally amplified, deliberate, and sustained across platforms with millions of viewers.”
Onoh warned that if the DSS goes ahead to clear Omokri, the implication would be unavoidable:
(a) “The Nigerian state will be telling the world that calling the President a drug baron is compatible with high diplomatic service.”
(b) “The Sowore prosecution will immediately appear selective, vindictive, and politically motivated.”
(c) “Defence lawyers will cite Omokri’s clearance as evidence of double standards, which could collapse the trial instantly.”
Institutional Damage, Diplomatic Risks, and Constitutional Violations
Onoh also highlighted potential constitutional breaches, noting that Section 172 requires ambassadorial nominees to be persons of “proven integrity.”
He argued Omokri’s conduct disqualifies him outright.
He added that Nigeria risks diplomatic embarrassment:
“Major foreign governments are unlikely to grant agrément to someone with such a controversial record. Abuja will be left to explain why it is presenting such a candidate at all.”
Onoh warned that the DSS would injure itself irreparably:
“Clearing Omokri means the DSS has abandoned objective national threat assessment. The damage to its institutional reputation will be permanent.”
“Do Not Allow Omokri to Make a Mockery of the Republic”
Onoh expressed fears that Omokri’s appointment would become an international spectacle:
“Foreign media will either interpret it as proof that the allegations against the President are being buried under diplomacy or that the state is so desperate it no longer cares about credibility.”
He concluded with a direct warning to Abuja and the DSS:
“Mr. Reno Omokri must not be cleared at this time. Doing so will shatter DSS credibility, collapse the ongoing treasonable-felony prosecution, ridicule Nigeria before the world, and hand Omokri a platform to claim vindication.”
“Do not allow Omokri to make a mockery of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he warned.
