FBI has no criminal record against Tinubu – Reno Omokri

A former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has said there is no criminal record held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Opposing the release of any documents on account of the ongoing dirty politics by members of the opposition political parties, Omokri argued that the documents with the FBI are not necessarily criminal records.

He said the presence of Tinubu’s name in FBI records did not mean that the president had a criminal record, arguing that the agency maintains extensive non-criminal files on individuals.

He stated this in a statement on X on Monday while reacting to the controversy surrounding Tinubu’s efforts to prevent the release of records held by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.

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 the FBI could have records on foreign nationals who had applied for US visas or undergone background checks.

“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.

“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,” he said.

According to Omokri, the records could contain sensitive personal information, including biometric, biographical and financial details.

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

He then questioned whether Nigerians would want their private information released to political opponents.

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

Omokri also claimed that the US authorities had previously cleared Tinubu of criminal wrongdoing.

He referred to correspondence he said was exchanged between the US Embassy and Nigeria’s then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, in February 2003.

According to him, Balogun had written to the US Embassy seeking information on whether the FBI had any criminal records involving Tinubu, who was then Governor of Lagos State.

Omokri said the embassy responded the following day and gave what he described as an “all clear” regarding 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 challenged anyone who doubted the authenticity of the document to seek clarification from the US Embassy.

“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.