FBI investigated people linked to Tinubu, not President — Omokri

FBI investigated people linked to Tinubu, not President — Omokri

Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has acknowledged that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted an investigation involving individuals connected to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but insisted that the Nigerian leader was not the subject of the probe.

Omokri made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, amid renewed controversy over FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) records being sought in a United States court in connection with Tinubu’s past dealings and a 1990s investigation.

He said reports suggesting that the President himself was investigated by the FBI were misleading, arguing that the records being discussed relate to people whose financial activities came under scrutiny.

“There was an investigation. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not the subject of that investigation,” Omokri said, adding that the President was working as an accountant at the time and had money belonging to clients who were subsequently investigated.

According to him, the funds became part of the investigation because of their connection to the individuals under scrutiny. He said that when the matter was brought to Tinubu’s attention, the then accountant agreed to the forfeiture of the funds.

Omokri stressed that the forfeiture related to the accounts and not to the President personally.

The controversy has intensified following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case filed in the United States by transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who has sought access to records held by US agencies concerning Tinubu.

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The case, filed as Civil Action No. 23-1816 before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, followed FOIA requests submitted in 2022 to several American government agencies.

The FBI and DEA remain involved in the litigation after other agencies were removed from the case following rulings that allowed them, in certain circumstances, to neither confirm nor deny the existence of requested records.

The Presidency has repeatedly maintained that the proceedings are a civil records-disclosure dispute, not a criminal prosecution of Tinubu. It has also stressed that no US court has found the President guilty of criminal wrongdoing.

According to the Presidency, the FBI and DEA have produced hundreds of pages of records in the litigation, with portions withheld or redacted under exemptions provided by US law. The exemptions include protections for grand-jury information, law-enforcement investigations, confidential sources, investigative techniques, attorney-client privilege and personal privacy.

Tinubu was also permitted to participate in the case as an intervenor to protect his privacy interests in the records being sought by Greenspan.

The latest controversy followed the submission of FBI records to US District Judge Beryl Howell on August 28 for review under seal. The materials were submitted ex parte and in camera, meaning they were provided to the judge for private judicial review rather than released publicly.

Omokri, however, argued that the existence of FBI records bearing Tinubu’s name should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of a criminal investigation against him.

He referred to a 2003 FBI records check, which he said showed that there was no criminal arrest record, outstanding warrant or similar criminal record against Tinubu at the time.

The ambassador-designate also rejected the characterisation of the documents as evidence that Tinubu had a criminal record in the United States.

He said FBI records can contain information about individuals for several reasons and that the mere existence of a file or reference to a person’s name does not, by itself, establish criminal culpability.

Omokri also questioned the wisdom of releasing all the records publicly, arguing that some of the material could contain sensitive personal information.

The Presidency had earlier explained that Tinubu himself invoked privacy protections under the FOIA process, while insisting that his participation in the case should not be interpreted as an indication that he was facing criminal charges in the United States.

The dispute has nevertheless continued to generate political controversy in Nigeria, particularly as parties and political groups position themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Opposition figures and critics of the administration have repeatedly demanded greater transparency over the records, while supporters of Tinubu have argued that the US court proceedings should not be presented as evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

With the legal dispute still before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the contents of the records submitted under seal have not been fully made public. The court will ultimately determine what, if any, additional material can be disclosed under US law.

For now, Omokri’s position is that while an FBI investigation involving people connected to Tinubu took place, there is a crucial distinction between that investigation and an allegation that the President himself was the target of a criminal probe.

The ambassador-designate said that distinction was being lost in the political debate surrounding the records.

FBI investigated people linked to Tinubu, not President — Omokri