Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore, engaged in a heated exchange of insults on X on Thursday, though neither explicitly named the other, their posts, however, left little doubt as to who the targets were

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n a renewed display of animosity, two key contenders from Nigeria’s recent presidential election, Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore, launched thinly veiled attacks at each other on the social media platform X on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

Also read: Peter Obi denies secret meeting with Tinubu in Rome over alleged Fidelity Bank debt

While direct mentions were avoided, a review of their posts and the underlying history between them clearly revealed the intended recipients of their jibes.

The exchange began with Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate, who took to X to brand an unnamed individual as a “blackmailer” and “self-proclaimed ‘blackmailer-in-chief’.”

This strong language was in apparent response to a story published by Sahara Reporters, the platform founded by Omoyele Sowore.

The Sahara Reporters article had alleged that Obi’s recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu was a discreet attempt to intercede on behalf of Fidelity Bank, a financial institution Obi once headed.

PREMIUM TIMES, however, had previously reported that the encounter between Obi and President Tinubu at a Vatican event for Pope Leo XIV was coincidental.

One such individual, whose entire life revolves around blackmail, falsely claimed that I went to Rome to have a private meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding a purported ₦225 billion debt crisis involving Fidelity Bank. These claims are not only baseless, malicious, but entirely false.

In his extensive post, Obi vehemently denied any such motive for meeting Tinubu.

He stated, “Let me categorically state that I have never sought an audience with, nor met, President Tinubu since he assumed office, except about 1 minute meeting at the arena of Saint Peter’s Basilica Rome during the inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV, where I was seated behind, and had to respectfully greet him, and other dignitaries present.”

Approximately two hours later, Omoyele Sowore retaliated with his own scathing post, labeling Obi a “Money Launderer-In-Chief.”

This epithet was a clear reference to an exclusive PREMIUM TIMES investigation, part of the global Pandora Papers collaboration, which had uncovered that Obi had violated Nigerian laws in his business dealings as the owner of NEXT.

Also read: Protests: Sahara Reporters’ boss, Omoyele Sowore, criticised over inciting social media post

Obi was among a handful of Nigerians implicated in the Pandora Papers exposé. Sowore’s post read, “I heard the “Money Launderer-In-Chief” at Pandora Papers and packaged fraud has fabricated another story this morning about the reason his elder brothers bounced him during his ill-fated visit to Rome.”