Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has come to the defence of President Bola Tinubu amid the growing controversy over efforts to prevent the release of unredacted records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Omokri argued that the existence of an individual’s name in FBI files should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of criminal conduct, maintaining that the American law-enforcement agency keeps extensive records that are unrelated to criminal activity.

In a statement posted on his X platform on Monday, Omokri dismissed claims suggesting that Tinubu’s appearance in FBI records meant that the Nigerian President had a criminal history.

“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.”

According to Omokri, FBI databases can contain information relating to individuals for several reasons, including immigration processes, visa applications and security screenings.

“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 further argued that a search of an individual’s name through FBI databases could generate substantial documentation without establishing that the person had committed any crime.

“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 said such government files could contain highly sensitive personal information and warned against equating requests for access to the records with proof of criminal wrongdoing.

“Such records may include personal biometric, biographical, and financial information, such as fingerprints, DNA, bank statements, and other private records,” he said.

Read also: Obi challenges Tinubu to address questions surrounding his past

He subsequently questioned whether critics demanding the release of the documents would be willing to have their own private information exposed 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 presidential aide also maintained that previous inquiries involving American authorities had not established that Tinubu possessed a criminal record.

He referred to correspondence which, according to him, was exchanged in February 2003 between the United States Embassy and Nigeria’s then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun.

Omokri said Balogun had sought clarification from the US authorities on whether the FBI had criminal records involving Tinubu, who was serving as Governor of Lagos State at the time.

According to Omokri, the embassy responded shortly afterwards with what he described as an all-clear concerning allegations of criminal records.

He linked the development to his own efforts to investigate Tinubu’s background during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.

“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.”

He added that Nigerians could examine what he described as documentary evidence from the US Embassy.

“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.”

Omokri also invited those questioning the authenticity of the document to independently seek clarification from American diplomatic authorities in Nigeria.

“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.

The comments came against the backdrop of an ongoing legal dispute in the United States over access to records relating to Tinubu held by the FBI and DEA.

Tinubu has asked the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to reject an application seeking the disclosure of unredacted versions of the records.

His legal team argued that provisions of the US Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act protected the documents from public disclosure. The lawyers also maintained that the request did not meet the legal threshold for overriding privacy protections in the public interest.

They further argued that the demand for the records was politically motivated and was connected to Tinubu’s current position as Nigeria’s President.

The controversy followed a Freedom of Information Act request filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who sought access to government records relating to Tinubu.

The FBI has relied on several exemptions under the FOIA in withholding portions of the requested materials, including exemptions relating to personal privacy, confidential sources, investigative methods and the safety of individuals.

Questions surrounding Tinubu’s records in the United States have remained part of Nigeria’s political debate since the 1990s and featured prominently during the campaigns and legal disputes that followed the 2023 presidential election.

In 1993, a United States District Court in Illinois ordered the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account linked to Tinubu following allegations by US authorities that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were connected with prohibited financial transactions.

However, the All Progressives Congress argued during the presidential election litigation that the matter was a civil forfeiture proceeding and did not amount to a criminal conviction.

The Presidential Election Petition Court also ruled in September 2023 that the petitioners had failed to prove that Tinubu was arrested, arraigned, convicted or sentenced in a criminal case in the United States.

Omokri insisted that the latest dispute over the release of the FBI and DEA records should therefore not be used to portray the President as someone with a criminal history.

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

He again urged Nigerians to distinguish between the existence of an FBI file and the existence of 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 maintained that political office should not automatically eliminate an individual’s right to privacy and repeated his earlier question about the consequences of exposing private information.

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

However, opposition political groups have continued to argue that the President should support the release of the documents in the interest of transparency and public accountability.

The spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the President should have nothing to fear from the release of the records if there was no damaging information contained in them.

“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 National Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Osa Director, called for full disclosure, arguing that Nigerians deserved clarity on issues relating to their President’s past.

The legal battle in the United States, however, centres on access to government-held documents under the Freedom of Information Act and, by itself, does not amount to a criminal prosecution or constitute proof that Tinubu committed any drug-trafficking offence.

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