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 documents are not necessarily criminal records.
Omokri 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 unredacted 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,” he said.
“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.”
