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Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has defended President Bola Tinubu’s opposition to the public release of his records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, arguing that the existence of FBI files bearing Tinubu’s name does not mean the President has a criminal record. Omokri said the FBI maintains extensive records on individuals for non-criminal reasons, including visa and background checks, and that such files can contain sensitive biometric, biographical and financial information.
Omokri claimed that Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria or elsewhere and referred to correspondence he said was exchanged between the US Embassy and then Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun in 2003. According to Omokri, the embassy’s response provided an “all clear” regarding criminal records involving Tinubu, who was then Lagos State governor. He also said his own investigation in Chicago in 2022 supported his position.
The comments come amid an ongoing legal battle in the US over access to records concerning Tinubu. While opposition figures have continued to demand their release, the dispute itself does not establish that Tinubu committed a criminal offence or was prosecuted in the United States.
