Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has defended President Bola Tinubu amid the controversy over the proposed release of his records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, arguing that an FBI file does not automatically amount to a criminal record.
Omokri made the argument in a statement posted on X on Monday while reacting to Tinubu’s legal efforts to stop the release of unredacted records held by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to the former presidential aide, the presence of Tinubu’s name in FBI records should not be interpreted as evidence of criminal conduct, noting that the agency maintains files on individuals for various non-criminal reasons.
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 FBI records may be generated when foreign nationals undergo visa applications or background checks conducted on behalf of US government agencies.
“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.
He added that such checks could generate extensive records without implying wrongdoing.
“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.”
Omokri further noted that such files could contain highly sensitive personal information, including biometric, biographical and financial data.
“Such records may include personal biometric, biographical, and financial information, such as fingerprints, DNA, bank statements, and other private records,” he said.
He also questioned whether the public would support the release of such information belonging to a private individual to political opponents.
“Would you, as an individual, want your private records released to your political opponents, even if they were non-criminal?”
The former aide also claimed that Tinubu had previously been cleared of criminal wrongdoing by US authorities.
He cited correspondence he said was exchanged between the US Embassy and Nigeria’s then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, in February 2003. According to Omokri, Balogun had contacted the embassy to establish whether the FBI held criminal records concerning Tinubu, who was then Lagos State governor.
Omokri said the embassy responded the following day with what he described as an “all clear” concerning 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 also encouraged those questioning the authenticity of the document to contact the US Embassy for verification.
“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 against the backdrop of an ongoing legal dispute in the United States over requests for access to Tinubu’s records.
PUNCH Online had reported that Tinubu asked the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss a request seeking the release of unredacted records held by the FBI and DEA.
His lawyers argued that the US Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act protected the records from disclosure. They also maintained that the request was politically motivated and that no legally recognised public interest justified the release.
The case followed a FOIA request by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who sought records relating to Tinubu.
The FBI has relied on several FOIA exemptions to withhold parts of the records, citing privacy protections, confidential sources, investigative techniques and the safety of individuals.
The controversy surrounding Tinubu’s US records dates back to the 1990s and became a major political 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 connected to prohibited financial transactions.
The APC argued during the presidential election litigation that the case was a civil forfeiture proceeding and did not amount to a criminal conviction.
In September 2023, the Presidential Election Petition Court ruled that the petitioners had failed to establish that Tinubu was arrested, arraigned, convicted or sentenced in a criminal case in the United States.
Omokri maintained that the latest 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 further urged Nigerians to 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 also reiterated his position that holding public office should not automatically strip an individual of privacy rights.
“Would you, as an individual, want your private records released to your political opponents, even if they were non-criminal?” he repeated.
However, opposition groups have continued to call for the release of the records, arguing that Nigerians have a legitimate interest in information concerning the President’s past.
African Democratic Congress spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Tinubu should support the release if there was nothing damaging in the records.
“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, Nigeria Democratic Congress National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, called for the records to be made public, arguing that Nigerians deserved to know the truth.
The ongoing US case is centred on access to government records under the FOIA and does not, by itself, amount to a criminal prosecution or establish that Tinubu committed a drug-trafficking offence.
