Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has addressed the renewed public controversy surrounding historical United States law-enforcement records linked to President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking during a television interview on Sunday, Omokri acknowledged that an FBI investigation did take place involving individuals connected to the President, but firmly maintained that President Tinubu himself was never the direct subject of the probe.
According to Omokri, the situation stemmed from Tinubu’s professional work as an accountant during that period, where he held funds belonging to clients who subsequently came under American scrutiny.
He explained that the relevant funds were identified as suspicious by authorities and were later forfeited. “The President was an accountant, and then the President had client funds. Those persons had been indicted by the FBI… 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 stated.
Furthermore, the ambassador-designate pointed to a 2003 FBI document detailing background checks conducted on the Nigerian leader.
He claimed the records demonstrated that no criminal arrest record or outstanding warrant ever existed against Tinubu.
While declining to name the specific individuals investigated—citing a desire to protect their families from unnecessary fallout—Omokri reiterated that public confusion must not conflate an inquiry into associates with an investigation of the President.
The ongoing controversy centers on legal efforts through Freedom of Information Act proceedings to acquire hundreds of pages of US law-enforcement records, some of which remain redacted or withheld.
Omokri defended withholding certain materials, cautioning that releasing sensitive data could compromise private biometric, familial, and financial details. “You don’t want those records in the hands of your enemies,” he remarked.
In light of these developments, Omokri also declined to dive deeper into the specific details of the records, pointing out that a legal case regarding the documents is currently pending.
As discussions surrounding the transparency of the records continue across political circles, the administration maintains that the historical files contain no evidence of personal criminality or direct wrongdoing by the Nigerian leader.
