Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has acknowledged that the FBI investigated individuals connected to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but insisted that the President himself was not the subject of the investigation.
Omokri made the clarification while appearing on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Sunday, where he addressed renewed controversy surrounding US records linked to Tinubu.
He argued that the issue had been fuelled by what he described as a misinterpretation of Tinubu’s relationship with funds that came under scrutiny by American authorities.
According to Omokri, Tinubu was working as an accountant at the time and had custody of funds belonging to clients who were being investigated.
“There was an investigation. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not the subject of that investigation,” Omokri said.
He explained that the funds were later forfeited after American authorities considered them suspicious, stressing that the forfeiture involved the accounts rather than Tinubu personally.
“The President was an accountant, and then the President had client funds. Those persons had been indicted by the FBI, and as a result of that, it said that certain funds… are suspicious funds,” he said.
“And then when it was brought to the attention of the President, the President agreed for a forfeiture. Now, it was to the accounts, not the President.”
Omokri also referred to a 2003 FBI document which he said recorded the outcome of checks conducted on Tinubu. He claimed the document showed that there was no criminal arrest record or outstanding warrant against the President.
He nevertheless acknowledged that an FBI investigation took place, while maintaining that Tinubu was not the individual under investigation.
“There was an investigation. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not the subject of that investigation,” he reiterated.
The ambassador-designate refused to identify those who were investigated, saying he did not want their families to face unnecessary consequences.
The comments come amid renewed controversy over US records relating to a 1990s investigation and ongoing legal proceedings seeking access to documents held by American law-enforcement authorities.
The dispute involves 399 pages of records referenced in Freedom of Information Act proceedings, with some of the documents reportedly redacted or withheld.
Omokri declined to discuss the contents of the records in detail, citing the pending court case.
He also opposed the release of potentially sensitive information contained in the documents, arguing that they could include biometric, familial and financial details.
He said such information could potentially be exploited by political opponents seeking to damage the President.
“You don’t want those records in the hands of your enemies,” he said.