Tinubu’s US Records: ADC, NDC challenge Tinubu’s bid to block release, say Nigerians deserve to know the truth

The controversy surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s records with United States law enforcement agencies has intensified, with opposition parties calling for the release of documents relating to his past dealings with American authorities.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) have questioned the President’s decision to oppose the release of the records, arguing that Nigerians deserve clarity on an issue that has remained a subject of political controversy for decades.

The development followed the emergence of court filings by Tinubu’s legal team before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in which the President opposed an application seeking the release of additional records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Christopher Carmichael, Victor Henderson and Oluwole Afolabi, argued that the documents contained private information gathered during law-enforcement investigations and were therefore protected under provisions of the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act.

The legal team also maintained that there was no sufficient public interest under US law to justify releasing the records.

According to the lawyers, the fact that Tinubu is Nigeria’s President does not automatically transform private information contained in US government files into information that must be made public.

They argued that the request by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan was primarily focused on obtaining information about Tinubu rather than examining the conduct of the FBI, DEA or other US government agencies.

Tinubu’s lawyers further rejected arguments that the documents could reveal a secret prosecution, government cover-up or agreement by US authorities not to prosecute the President, describing such claims as speculative and unsupported by evidence.

The legal team also argued that the previous disclosure of some information concerning Tinubu did not extinguish his privacy rights over undisclosed details contained in investigative files.

ADC: Tinubu Should Come Out Clean

Reacting to the development, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the President should have no reason to oppose the release of the records if he wanted to permanently settle questions surrounding his past.

Abdullahi described Tinubu’s opposition to the release as suspicious and urged him to allow the documents to be made public.

“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.

“The President should come out clean. He should be the one calling for the records to be released if he has nothing to hide because this is not good for him and the image of the country,” he said.

NDC: Nigerians Deserve to Know

The NDC also called on Tinubu to allow the records to be released, rejecting the argument that the request was merely an attempt by opposition politicians to embarrass the President.

NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the controversy had existed for more than two decades and should be resolved rather than allowed to continue resurfacing.

“When a man commits an offence and he says, please, don’t blame me because it is the devil, does that mean he should not face the consequence of his action because it is the devil? That is the question the President should answer,” Director said.

He argued that the opposition was only capitalising on an issue that already existed in the public domain.

“Whether it is the opposition or not, if the issue wasn’t there, the opposition would not capitalise on it. Why did the opposition not ask the FBI to release records on our presidential candidate, Peter Obi, or Atiku? That is not an excuse,” he added.

According to Director, releasing the records would give Tinubu an opportunity to put the matter to rest.

“Nigerians deserve to know and in the interest of the President. He deserves to clear the air. This case has been hanging on since his time as a governor. It is over 20 years.

“Even me, as an opposition, am getting bored. It is time, once and for all, that he should clear the air to allow the issue to be buried,” he said.

The $460,000 Forfeiture Controversy

The controversy surrounding Tinubu’s US records dates back several years and became a major political issue during the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.

At the centre of the controversy are records connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the United States involving about $460,000 held in accounts linked to Tinubu.

US court records previously made public have documented the forfeiture proceedings, while Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing connected to allegations of narcotics trafficking.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) had also argued during the 2023 presidential election litigation that the forfeiture proceeding was civil in nature and did not amount to a criminal conviction.

The latest legal battle, however, concerns whether additional records held by US law-enforcement agencies should be released under FOIA.

The court is now being asked to determine the extent to which the records can be disclosed, withheld or redacted under US privacy and law-enforcement exemptions.

For the opposition parties, the issue is one of transparency and accountability. For Tinubu’s legal team, it is a question of privacy rights and the limits of the US FOIA.

As the proceedings continue, the controversy is once again placing the President’s long-standing US records at the centre of Nigeria’s political debate.

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