The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over reports that his legal representatives asked a United States court to restrict the release of records held by American law enforcement agencies in connection with historical investigations allegedly linking him to drug trafficking.
The development has renewed public interest in records relating to Tinubu following ongoing legal proceedings in the United States involving documents held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In a 16-page court filing, lawyers representing Tinubu reportedly argued that the release of the records could violate the President’s privacy rights.
Reacting to the development, Obi described the move as embarrassing, arguing that a sitting president should have the courage to confront questions surrounding his past.
“It is profoundly embarrassing that we have reached a point where a sitting President is asking a foreign court to withhold records concerning his past, particularly records relating to matters of legitimate public interest,” Obi said.
“Leadership, in my humble view, demands the courage and humility to confront one’s history, to acknowledge mistakes, provide candid explanations where questions arise, and, where necessary, apologise and seek forgiveness.
“True authority is strengthened, not diminished, when a leader accepts responsibility rather than seeks to shield uncomfortable aspects of the past from legitimate scrutiny.”
Obi’s comments came amid a renewed legal dispute over records sought from U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, a United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., has claimed that Tinubu could face embarrassment if he attends the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this month.
In a post on its verified X handle, the firm claimed that Tinubu’s reported efforts to secure a private meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the UNGA would not succeed.
The firm further alleged that members of the Trump administration had indicated that Trump would not hold a private meeting with Tinubu over the drug-trafficking allegations.
It added, however, that Tinubu, as Nigeria’s President, could travel to New York to attend the UNGA under the access and transit protections afforded to representatives of UN member states.
The firm also claimed it was prepared, if authorised, to launch an awareness campaign within a six-mile radius of the UN headquarters to publicise allegations concerning Tinubu’s alleged involvement in heroin trafficking.
Von Batten-Montague-Montague-York also disputed claims that Tinubu had never been criminally investigated by the FBI in connection with drug trafficking.
According to the firm, it had obtained a large volume of FBI records and was reviewing and redacting portions of the documents where necessary.
It cited an FBI declaration submitted to a U.S. federal court, claiming the bureau acknowledged that Tinubu had been the subject of a criminal investigation.
The firm further quoted the FBI as saying that the responsive records were compiled as part of an investigation into multiple individuals for drug-trafficking offences.
However, Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, Reno Omokri, defended Tinubu, arguing that the existence of FBI records bearing the President’s name did not necessarily mean that the records were criminal in nature.
Omokri said the FBI maintains extensive records containing non-criminal information on U.S. citizens, residents and foreign nationals.
Responding to reports surrounding the legal dispute, he argued that individuals would ordinarily resist the public release of private information, even where such records contain no evidence of criminal conduct.
According to him, records held by the FBI could have been generated through routine processes, including background checks and visa applications, and may contain biometric, biographical or financial information.
He therefore dismissed reports suggesting that the FBI had released Tinubu’s “criminal records” to a U.S. judge, describing such characterisation as misleading.
“The existence of such records does not establish criminal conduct,” Omokri argued.
Some of the records sought have been linked to allegations surrounding a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving approximately $460,000. Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing in connection with the allegations.
The legal dispute intensified after the FBI confirmed that it had records responsive to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by American researcher Aaron Greenspan.
The bureau subsequently asked the court for permission to submit some of the materials privately, arguing that releasing the documents in full could expose law-enforcement techniques and potentially endanger individuals.
A U.S. judge later permitted the FBI to submit sensitive materials for private judicial review, allowing the court to examine the documents without making them public at that stage.
