The United States (US) Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have revealed when they will release Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s criminal and immigration records to the public. In a court document sighted by journalists, the FBI and US State Department cited ‘unusual circumstances’ for the inability to release the records to the public.
While reacting to a freedom of information request, the U.S. authorities said that even if they were to release the demanded records of the Nigerian President, it would be at least until January 2026 before they could do so.
Meanwhile a civil lawsuit has now been filed over the matter before Judge Beryl Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. summoning all the agencies to appear in court to show course why records relating to a Nigerian President were deemed unusual and inconsequential to be released to the public.
On July 17, assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Littman entered an appearance as the lawyer representing all the agencies and promptly requested a delay until August 28, 2023, to file a response to the lawsuit, which was instituted on June 12, 2023.
Aaron Greenspan, an American public disclosure activist had filed a request to the FBI, State Department, Department of Treasury, and Drug Enforcement Administration, among federal and local agencies, seeking an urgent release of Tinubu’s immigration and criminal records.
This follows President Tinubu’s claims in court that he did not commit any crimes during his stay in the United States, asserting ownership of his identity, despite alleged changed of names and education records in the past.
The former Governor of Lagos State’s educational records contain omissions and contradictions that are yet to be clear to the general public.
The Nigerian President in his oath to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) while seeking for Lagos State Governor in 1999 attended the prestigious University of Chicago. The university has since disowned Tinubu.
Another American school, Chicago State University, confirmed a female gender Bola Tinubu attended the school in the 1970s.
Tinubu was also named as a launderer of proceeds of drug trafficking in U.S. court documents in 1993. He reportedly forfeited $460,000 at the time. The records formed a key part of an ongoing challenge to Tinubu’s election as President of Nigeria before a tribunal hearing election petitions in Abuja.
This prompted Greenspan, who runs PlainSite, a website that holds files from American courts and institutions, to file multiple requests to U.S. authorities in possession of documents that could help clarify some of the crucial questions upsetting Nigerian minds.
The State Department is believed to have records of whether or not the person who applied for a U.S. visa and travelled as Bola Tinubu in the 1970s is the same person running Nigeria today.
However, the FBI is expected to throw more light on how Tinubu became involved in drugs in the U.S. and other criminal charges records.