Tinubu’s FBI records: Reno Omokri explains why President opposes release

Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s opposition to the public release of records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arguing that the existence of government files does not automatically mean that an individual has a criminal record.

Omokri made the submission on Monday, August 31, 2026, in a statement published on X while reacting to the renewed controversy surrounding Tinubu’s efforts to prevent the release of unredacted records concerning him.

The controversy follows an ongoing legal battle in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, where Tinubu’s lawyers are opposing a request by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan for access to records held by US law-enforcement agencies.

Omokri argued that the FBI maintains extensive records on individuals for reasons that have nothing to do with criminal convictions or wrongdoing.

He said the FBI may have information on US citizens, residents and foreign nationals whose names have been subjected to background checks for purposes including visa applications and other government processes.

“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,” Omokri said.

He argued that a name appearing in an FBI database could generate numerous pages of records without those documents necessarily containing evidence of criminal conduct.

“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,” he said.

Omokri further argued that law-enforcement records can contain highly sensitive personal information, including biometric, biographical and financial details.

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He questioned whether Nigerians would want such private information released publicly or handed to political opponents simply because the person involved is a public official.

“Would you, as an individual, want your private records released to your political opponents, even if they were non-criminal?” he asked.

His comments came amid renewed attention to Tinubu’s legal challenge against the release of unredacted FBI and DEA records.

The President’s lawyers have argued that US privacy laws and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) protect information contained in the requested documents.

They have also challenged the argument that Tinubu’s status as Nigeria’s President creates a sufficient public-interest basis for releasing otherwise protected personal information.

The legal dispute followed Greenspan’s FOIA efforts to obtain records relating to Tinubu from several US government agencies.

The requested material is connected to historical investigations involving Tinubu and dates largely to the period when he was involved in business and political activities in the United States.

The FBI and other US agencies have previously relied on various FOIA exemptions when dealing with requests for sensitive investigative records. Such exemptions can cover personal privacy, confidential sources, investigative methods and information whose disclosure could expose individuals to harm.

The current US case is therefore a dispute over access to government records, rather than a criminal prosecution of Tinubu.

Omokri also sought to counter claims that Tinubu had previously been identified by US authorities as having a criminal record.

He referred to correspondence between the US Consulate in Lagos and then Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun in February 2003.

According to Omokri, Balogun had written to the US authorities seeking information on whether the FBI had criminal records concerning Tinubu, who was then governor of Lagos State.

Omokri said the US Consulate responded the following day after conducting a check of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.

Contemporary reporting on the correspondence indicates that the check returned no criminal arrest records, wants or warrants concerning Tinubu.

Omokri described the response as an “all clear” and cited it as evidence supporting his position that Tinubu had not been identified as having a criminal arrest or warrant in that particular US database check.

However, the 2003 correspondence should not be interpreted as a blanket declaration that no other investigative, administrative or government records concerning Tinubu existed.

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The distinction is important because the current FOIA litigation concerns broader records held by US agencies.

Omokri said he also travelled to Chicago in 2022, while he was associated with the political opposition, to investigate questions surrounding Tinubu’s academic and other records.

He challenged anyone who doubts the authenticity of the 2003 US Embassy correspondence to seek clarification from the US Embassy.

The controversy over Tinubu’s US records also has a separate history dating back to the 1990s.

In 1993, a US federal court in Illinois ordered the forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to a bank account associated with Tinubu.

US authorities alleged that the money represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or was connected to prohibited financial transactions.

The case was a civil forfeiture proceeding, rather than a criminal prosecution resulting in a conviction.

The issue later became a major part of legal challenges surrounding Tinubu’s eligibility and qualifications during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election litigation.

The Presidential Election Petition Court acknowledged the forfeiture proceedings but held that the petitioners had not established that Tinubu had been arrested, arraigned, convicted or sentenced in a criminal case in the United States.

The court therefore rejected arguments that the forfeiture amounted to a criminal conviction that could disqualify Tinubu from contesting the Nigerian presidency.

The distinction between civil forfeiture and criminal conviction has remained central to the political debate over Tinubu’s history in the United States.

Tinubu’s supporters have maintained that the forfeiture proceeding did not result in a criminal conviction, while his critics have continued to demand greater transparency concerning the circumstances surrounding the funds.

The latest FOIA case has now brought the issue back into public attention, with Greenspan seeking additional records from US government agencies and Tinubu’s lawyers asking the court to prevent or restrict their release.

Omokri maintains that the public should distinguish between an FBI file and a criminal record.

“President Bola Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria, or anywhere else,” he said.

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He argued that the existence of records in an FBI database cannot, on its own, establish criminal wrongdoing.

Opposition figures, however, have taken a different position.

African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi has argued that Tinubu should allow the records to be released if they contain nothing damaging, saying disclosure could help settle the controversy.

Other opposition voices have similarly demanded greater transparency, arguing that Nigerians have a legitimate interest in information concerning the background of a sitting President.

The disagreement therefore centres on the balance between privacy rights, government-record protections and public interest.

Tinubu’s lawyers are seeking to rely on protections available under US law, while Greenspan is pursuing access through the FOIA process.

The US court will ultimately determine what records, if any, can be released and which portions may legally remain withheld or redacted.

The current litigation does not itself establish that Tinubu committed a criminal offence, nor does it constitute a criminal case against the Nigerian President.

For now, the dispute remains focused on whether US government agencies should disclose additional records concerning Tinubu and whether privacy and other FOIA exemptions justify withholding or redacting the material.

Omokri’s intervention has added another layer to the debate, with the former presidential aide insisting that FBI records should not automatically be portrayed as evidence of criminal conduct.

The controversy is expected to remain politically significant in Nigeria as the US court considers the competing arguments over transparency, privacy and access to government records involving the Nigerian President.

Tinubu’s FBI records: Reno Omokri explains why President opposes release

EFCC Recovers N1.23tn, $684m as Convictions Hit 10,872 in Three Years — Olukoyede

EFCC Chairman presents stewardship report, reveals 75.1% conviction rate, N836bn recovered for MDAs, and N50bn allocations to NELFUND

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered N1.23 trillion, $684.48 million, £373,905.78 and €9.34 million between October 1, 2023, and June 30, 2026, while securing 10,872 convictions from 14,476 cases filed in court, the agency’s Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has disclosed. Olukoyede made the announcement on Monday during a media briefing at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja to mark his three-year stewardship of the anti-graft agency. He described asset recovery as one of the major pillars of the commission’s efforts to combat economic and financial crimes and safeguard public resources, emphasizing that the figures reflected the commission’s strengthened investigations, prosecutions and asset recovery operations under his leadership.

Of the N1.23 trillion recovered in naira, approximately N397.26 billion (33 per cent) constituted direct recoveries for the Federal Government, while N836.34 billion (67 per cent) represented indirect recoveries made on behalf of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), state revenue services, companies, individuals and foreign victims. Olukoyede clarified that “two out of every three naira recovered were on behalf of beneficiaries other than the Federal Government.” The EFCC chairman also disclosed that the commission had released N661.32 billion and $492.37 million to beneficiaries during the period, stressing that recovery was meaningful only when recovered assets were returned to the public interest and rightful beneficiaries. The naira releases included N325.35 billion paid directly to individuals and corporate bodies, while N335.97 billion was released to various MDAs, the Nigerian Revenue Service, state internal revenue services, and other public institutions, companies, and individuals.

Olukoyede said the commission received 49,673 petitions, investigated 39,615 cases, filed 14,476 cases in court and secured 10,872 convictions between October 2023 and July 2026, representing a conviction-to-filing ratio of 75.1 per cent. In the first half of 2026 alone, the agency recorded 1,370 convictions from 1,889 filings. According to the EFCC chairman, data from 2024 to 2026 showed 46,288 offences across nine major financial crime typologies, with advance fee fraud and cybercrime accounting for nearly two-thirds of recorded offences. Recorded offences increased by 24.1 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with notable rises in procurement fraud, bank fraud, cybercrime, and economic governance offences.

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Olukoyede said the commission had continued to prosecute high-profile cases without regard to the status of suspects, noting that its portfolio covered former governors, ministers, public office holders, heads of agencies, financial-sector operators, and corporate officials. He listed recent convictions involving former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, former NEXIM Bank managing director, Robert Orya, and Chukwunyere Nwabuoku. The EFCC’s specialised enforcement portfolio covering money laundering, unlicensed bureaux de change, illegal mining, virtual assets, and terrorist financing recorded 920 cases, with 212 convictions. Regarding Bureau de Change operators, 2,374 cases had been filed, resulting in 71 convictions, with 234 cases still under investigation.

On asset forfeiture, the EFCC chairman said 10,053 tangible assets were forfeited under interim and final court orders between October 2023 and July 2026, while 102 tonnes of solid minerals were recovered. The commission also secured the forfeiture of an aircraft allegedly linked to a $30 million bribe case, which has since been added to the presidential air fleet. Additionally, a property containing about 753 housing units was forfeited from a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Olukoyede said the anti-graft war had also produced social and economic benefits, citing the allocation of N50 billion each from recovered proceeds to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation in 2024, with further N50 billion allocations to each institution approved in 2026. He also noted that a recovered property, NOK University, had been converted into the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia, Kaduna State, where 1,909 students matriculated in December 2025.

Olukoyede further disclosed that more than 40 EFCC personnel had been dismissed for misconduct in the past three years, while the commission was ensuring that its arrest operations complied with the law. He warned that officers found violating the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act would face appropriate disciplinary action. The latest figures represent a significant increase from the recoveries reported by the commission during the first two years of Olukoyede’s tenure. In October 2025, the EFCC said it had recovered N566.3bn and $411m within Olukoyede’s first two years in office, with the commission also reporting the recovery of 1,502 properties during the period.

Olukoyede has consistently maintained that the EFCC’s mandate extends beyond recovering cash, with the agency pursuing properties, vehicles and other assets suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crime. The commission has used both criminal prosecutions and forfeiture proceedings to recover assets linked to alleged corruption, fraud, money laundering and other financial offences. In some cases, the EFCC has pursued non-conviction-based forfeiture proceedings where it alleges that assets were acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. Olukoyede has also stressed the importance of international cooperation in tracing funds and assets allegedly moved outside Nigeria as part of efforts to prevent suspects from concealing proceeds of crime abroad.

EFCC Recovers N1.23tn, $684m as Convictions Hit 10,872 in Three Years — Olukoyede

Tension in Awka as suspected cultists kill popular mobile advertiser, one other

Anambra State Police launch manhunt for gunmen who shot two victims at separate locations in the state capital

A wave of fear has swept through residents of Awka, the Anambra State capital, after suspected cultists shot dead a well-known mobile advertiser and media personality, Isaac Nwosu — popularly called Aiza — along with another unidentified person in a brutal attack on Sunday, August 30, 2026. The two separate shootings, which occurred within hours of each other, have left the community in shock and reignited concerns over cult-related violence in the state capital. As of Monday morning, the Anambra State Police Command had launched a full-scale manhunt for the perpetrators, while the motive for the killings remains unclear.

According to eyewitness accounts and preliminary police reports, Nwosu was trailed from his residence by assailants travelling in a silver-coloured Toyota Corolla with heavily tinted windows. The attackers reportedly double-crossed his vehicle along S.M. Okeke Street, Amaikwo, before opening fire on him at close range. Nwosu, who was behind the wheel of his Toyota Hilux van — a vehicle he famously used for mobile advertising, public announcements, and playing music across Awka — was found slumped in the driver’s seat with multiple bullet wounds. His body was later recovered by police operatives, and the vehicle’s sound system was still blaring music when responders arrived at the scene. In a separate incident along Capital City Road, Amaenyi, gunmen believed to be part of the same gang shot another unidentified victim in the head. The body of the second victim was discovered on the roadside, and his identity has yet to be established.

Isaac Nwosu, known by his stage name Aiza, was a household name in Awka. He built a reputation as a versatile entertainer, working as a disc jockey (DJ) and master of ceremonies (MC) at high-profile events, weddings, and parties. He also occasionally presented programmes on local radio stations, earning a loyal following. His signature mobile advertising truck — fitted with powerful loudspeakers — was a familiar sight on the streets of Awka, where he would drive around making announcements, playing music, and promoting businesses. His flamboyant and theatrical style made him one of the most recognisable figures in the city’s entertainment and advertising scene. Colleagues and friends have since flooded social media with tributes, describing him as “unforgettable,” “larger than life,” and “a man who brought energy to every room.”

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Sources close to the deceased revealed that Sunday’s attack was not the first time Nwosu had come under threat. He reportedly survived previous assassination attempts, though the details of those incidents remain unclear. In one past incident, Nwosu was involved in a controversial accident while carrying out a public address function with his vehicle — an accident that nearly left him crippled. Friends say he had been cautious in recent months, but the latest attack proved fatal.

The Anambra State Police Command has condemned the killings in the strongest terms and assured residents that efforts are being intensified to track down the attackers. In an official statement issued on Monday, the command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident and provided updates on the investigation. He stated that the Police condemns in the strongest terms the gunshot attacks carried out by unidentified gunmen in Awka on Sunday, 30th August 2026, which resulted in the deaths of two persons, and that the Command has consequently intensified the ongoing manhunt for the perpetrators while calling for the support and cooperation of members of the public to assist in bringing the suspects to justice. According to Ikenga, three unidentified persons travelling in a silver-coloured Toyota Corolla — whose registration number is yet to be ascertained — allegedly carried out the two shootings at different locations. Upon receiving distress calls, police operatives were immediately deployed to the scenes. The bodies of the victims were recovered and taken to a hospital, where medical personnel confirmed them dead. Items recovered from the crime scenes include ₦7,550 in cash, one Moniepoint ATM card, and one pair of slippers.

The Commissioner of Police for Anambra State, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, has strongly condemned the killings, describing them as “unacceptable” and “a direct affront to the peace and security of the state.” He has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) , Awka, for a discreet and comprehensive investigation. CP Ama also directed that security patrols, surveillance, and intelligence-gathering be intensified across Awka and its adjoining areas to prevent further attacks and reassure residents of their safety.

The police command has appealed to community leaders, residents, motorists, business owners, and anyone with credible information about the suspects, their movements, or the vehicle used in the attacks to come forward. SP Ikenga assured the public that all information would be treated with the utmost confidentiality, emphasising that community partnership remains critical to effective policing. He urged residents to provide timely information that could assist in apprehending the perpetrators and preventing further attacks.

The killings have sent shockwaves through Awka, a city with a long and troubled history of cult clashes and gang violence. Residents and members of the entertainment industry are demanding answers and calling on the government to take decisive action to curb the rising tide of insecurity. Many have taken to social media to express their grief and outrage, with some questioning the effectiveness of security measures in the state capital. Others have called for a state-wide crackdown on cult groups and improved intelligence gathering to prevent future tragedies. As of Monday evening, no arrests have been made, and the motive for the killings remains under investigation.

If you have any information that could help the police in their investigation, please contact the nearest police station or the Anambra State Police Command via their official channels. Your identity will be protected, and your information could be crucial in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Tension in Awka as suspected cultists kill popular mobile advertiser, one other