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Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has defended President Bola Tinubu amid growing controversy over efforts to prevent the leak of unredacted records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Omokri argued that the presence of a person’s name in an FBI file should not be automatically interpreted as evidence of criminal activity, arguing that American law enforcement agencies maintain many records that have nothing to do with criminal activity.
In a statement posted on his X platform on Monday, Omokri rejected claims suggesting that Tinubu’s appearance in FBI records means that the Nigerian President has a criminal history.
“President Bola Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria, or anywhere else, and the FBI has not provided any criminal record on the President to anyone because there is none. Yes, FBI records may contain his name, but they are NOT criminal records.”
According to Omokri, the FBI database can contain information relating to individuals for several reasons, including immigration processing, visa applications and security checks.
“This is because the FBI conducts MANDATORY background checks on behalf of the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security on US visa applicants,” he said.
He further argued that searching a person’s name through the FBI database could yield substantial documentation without proving that the person had committed any crime.
“So, as a U.S. citizen or resident, or even as a foreign national, if your name is listed in the FBI database, it will likely turn up hundreds of pages of records. This does not mean that the records are criminal in nature. In most cases, they are harmless.”
Omokri said such government records could contain highly sensitive personal information and warned against equating requests for access to such records with evidence of criminal offences.
“Such records may include biometric, biographical and personal financial information, such as fingerprints, DNA, bank statements and other personal records,” he said.
Also read: Obi challenges Tinubu to answer questions about his past
He then questioned whether critics demanding the release of the documents were willing to reveal their personal information to political opponents.
“Would you, as an individual, want your personal records made public to your political opponents, even if they are not criminals?”
The former presidential aide also stated that previous investigations involving American authorities did not prove that Tinubu had a criminal record.
He referred to correspondence that he said occurred in February 2003 between the United States Embassy and the then Inspector General of Nigerian Police, Tafa Balogun.
Omokri said Balogun had sought clarification from US authorities on whether the FBI had any criminal records involving Tinubu, who was then Governor of Lagos State.
According to Omokri, the embassy responded immediately with what he described as a clear statement regarding the alleged criminal record.
He linked the development to his own efforts to investigate Tinubu’s background ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.
“This is consistent with my findings when I visited Chicago in 2022, as a member of the opposition, to uncover the truth about the academic and other records of Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu.”
He added that Nigerians can check what he described as documentary evidence from the US Embassy.
“Nigerians may wish to know the response of the United States Embassy exonerating the then Governor of Lagos of any wrongdoing or any criminal act, allegation or activity.”
Omokri also invited those who question the authenticity of the document to independently seek clarification from American diplomatic authorities in Nigeria.
“Those who may question the authenticity of this document may also wish to contact the US Embassy in Abuja or Lagos for clarification,” he said.
The comments come amid an ongoing legal dispute in the United States over access to Tinubu-related records held by the FBI and DEA.
Tinubu has asked the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to deny a request for disclosure of an unredacted version of the records.
His legal team argued that provisions of the US Freedom of Information and Privacy Act protect the documents from public disclosure. The lawyers also argued that the request did not meet the legal threshold for overriding privacy protections in the public interest.
They further argued that the request for the recordings was politically motivated and related to Tinubu’s current position as President of Nigeria.
The controversy followed a Freedom of Information Act request filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who requested access to government records related to Tinubu.
The FBI relied on several exceptions under FOIA in withholding some of the requested materials, including exceptions relating to personal privacy, confidential sources, investigative methods, and individual safety.
Questions surrounding Tinubu’s track record in the United States have remained part of Nigeria’s political debate since the 1990s and have featured prominently during the campaign and legal disputes following the 2023 presidential election.
In 1993, the United States District Court in Illinois ordered the forfeiture of $460,000 held in accounts associated with Tinubu following allegations by US authorities that the funds were proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were related to illicit financial transactions.
However, the All Progressives Congress argued during the presidential election litigation that the matter was a civil forfeiture proceeding and did not fall under criminal penalties.
The Presidential Election Appeals Tribunal also ruled in September 2023 that the applicants failed to prove that Tinubu was arrested, charged, convicted or sentenced in a criminal case in the United States.
Omokri emphasized that the recent dispute over the disclosure of FBI and DEA records should not be used to paint the President as someone with a criminal history.
“President Bola Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria or anywhere else.”
He again urged Nigerians to distinguish between the existence of an FBI file and the existence of a criminal record.
“Please check the facts: The US FBI regularly maintains billions of non-criminal files on American citizens and residents, as well as foreign nationals, through the Central Records System and the FBI’s Next Generation Identification database,” he said.
Omokri emphasized that political office should not automatically diminish a person’s right to privacy and reiterated previous questions about the consequences of disclosing personal information.
“Would you, as an individual, want your personal records made public to your political opponents, even if they are not criminals?” he repeated.
However, opposition political groups continue to argue that the President should support the release of the document in the interests of transparency and public accountability.
Spokesperson for the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the President should not be afraid of the release of the records if there is no detrimental information contained in them.
“Why is the President opposed to opening his past records? That is suspicious. The President should allow (the records) to be opened to clear himself,” he said.
Likewise, the National Publicity Secretary of the Democratic Congress of Nigeria, Director Osa, called for full disclosure, arguing that Nigerians deserve clarity on issues relating to their President’s past.
However, the legal dispute in the United States centers on access to government documents under the Freedom of Information Act and, by itself, cannot be considered a criminal prosecution or constitute evidence that Tinubu committed drug trafficking offenses.
