Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has acknowledged that the FBI conducted an investigation involving people connected to President Bola Tinubu, but insisted that the Nigerian leader was not the subject of the probe.
Omokri made the clarification during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he addressed renewed controversy surrounding United States records linked to Tinubu.
Omokri Explains FBI Investigation
According to Omokri, the investigation centred on individuals whose funds were connected to Tinubu when he was working as an accountant.
He explained that Tinubu had custody of money belonging to clients who were themselves under investigation by American authorities.
“There was an investigation. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not the subject of that investigation,” Omokri said.
He said the funds were subsequently forfeited after American authorities considered them suspicious, stressing that the forfeiture was against the accounts and not Tinubu personally.
“The President was an accountant, and then the President had client funds. Those persons had been indicted by the FBI, and as a result of that, it said that certain funds… are suspicious funds,” he said.
“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.”
US Records Remain Controversial
Omokri also referred to a 2003 FBI document which he said contained the outcome of checks carried out on Tinubu.
He claimed the document showed that Tinubu had no criminal arrest record or outstanding warrant.
The ambassador-designate, however, acknowledged that an FBI investigation did take place but maintained that Tinubu was not the person under investigation.
“There was an investigation. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not the subject of that investigation,” he reiterated.
He declined to identify the people who were investigated, saying he did not want their families to suffer unnecessary consequences.
The controversy comes amid renewed efforts to obtain US law-enforcement records connected to an investigation dating back to the 1990s. Some of the records are currently the subject of Freedom of Information Act proceedings, with documents either redacted or withheld.
Omokri also declined to discuss the details of the documents because of the pending court proceedings.
He further argued against releasing sensitive information that could contain biometric, family and financial details.
“You don’t want those records in the hands of your enemies,” he said.
