Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s opposition to the public release of his records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, arguing that the documents are not necessarily criminal records.
Omokri said the presence of Tinubu’s name in FBI records did not mean that the President had a criminal record, arguing that the agency maintains extensive non-criminal files on individuals.
He stated this in a statement on X on Monday while reacting to the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s efforts to prevent the release of unredacted records held by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Omokri said, “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 none exists. Yes, FBI records may contain his name, but they are NOT criminal records.”
He explained that the FBI could have records on foreign nationals who had applied for US visas or undergone background checks.
“This is because the FBI conducts MANDATORY background screenings on behalf of the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security on US visa applicants,” he said.
“Thus, as a US citizen or resident, or even as a foreign national, if your name is run through the FBI databases, it is likely to bring up hundreds of pages of records. This does not mean that the records are criminal. In most cases, they will be benign.”
According to Omokri, the records could contain sensitive personal information, including biometric, biographical and financial details.
“Such records may include personal biometric, biographical, and financial information, such as fingerprints, DNA, bank statements, and other private records,” he said.
He then questioned whether Nigerians would want their private information released to political opponents.
“Would you, as an individual, want your private records released to your political opponents, even if they were non-criminal?”
Omokri also claimed that the US authorities had previously cleared Tinubu of criminal wrongdoing.
He referred to correspondence he said was exchanged between the US Embassy and Nigeria’s then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, in February 2003.
According to him, Balogun had written to the US Embassy seeking information on whether the FBI had any criminal records involving Tinubu, who was then Governor of Lagos State.
Omokri said the embassy responded the following day and gave what he described as an “all clear” regarding criminal records involving Tinubu.
He said, “This was consistent with my findings when I visited Chicago in 2022, as a member of the opposition, to establish the truth about then-Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu’s academic and other records.”
Omokri added, “Nigerians may want to find attached the response from the Embassy of the United States absolving the then-Governor of Lagos of any wrongdoing or criminal conduct, charges, or activity whatsoever.”
He challenged anyone who doubted the authenticity of the document to seek clarification from the US Embassy.
“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.
Omokri’s comments came amid an ongoing legal battle in the United States over access to Tinubu’s records.
PUNCH Online had reported that Tinubu had asked the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to reject a request seeking the release of his unredacted records held by the FBI and DEA.
The President’s lawyers argued that the US Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act protected the records from disclosure, while also contending that there was no public interest recognised under US law that justified releasing the information.
The lawyers also argued that the request was politically motivated and sought information about Tinubu because of his position as Nigeria’s President.
The case followed a FOIA request by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who sought access to records relating to Tinubu.
The FBI has invoked several FOIA exemptions in resisting the release of portions of the records, including provisions relating to privacy, confidential sources, investigative techniques and the safety of individuals.
The controversy over Tinubu’s US records dates back to the 1990s and became a major issue during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.
In 1993, a US District Court in Illinois ordered the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account linked to Tinubu after US authorities alleged that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in prohibited financial transactions.
The All Progressives Congress maintained during the presidential election litigation that the proceeding was a civil forfeiture case and not a criminal conviction.
The Presidential Election Petition Court, in September 2023, held that the petitioners had failed to establish that Tinubu was arrested, arraigned, convicted or sentenced in a criminal case in the US.
Omokri maintained that the current controversy should not be used to portray Tinubu as having a criminal record.
He said, “President Bola Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria, or anywhere else.”
He also argued that the public should distinguish between an FBI file and a criminal record.
“Please fact-check me: The US FBI regularly keeps billions of non-criminal files on American citizens and residents, as well as foreign nationals, through the FBI’s Central Records Systems and Next Generation Identification database,” he said.
Omokri said the release of private records should not be treated as an automatic public right merely because the individual concerned is a political figure.
“Would you, as an individual, want your private records released to your political opponents, even if they were non-criminal?” he repeated.
Meanwhile, opposition groups have continued to demand the release of the records, arguing that Nigerians have a right to know information about the President’s past.
The African Democratic Congress spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Tinubu should support the release of the records if he had nothing to hide.
“Why is the President opposing the release of his past records? That is suspicious. The President should allow them (records) to be released to clear himself,” he said.
Similarly, the Nigeria Democratic Congress National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said Nigerians deserved to know the truth and urged Tinubu to allow the release of the records.
The ongoing US case concerns access to government records under the FOIA and does not, by itself, constitute a criminal prosecution or establish that Tinubu committed a drug-trafficking offence.
(Punch)
