Tinubu Has No FBI Criminal Record, Reno Omokri Insists

Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has said President Bola Tinubu has no criminal record with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), arguing that the records being demanded by critics are not necessarily criminal records.

Omokri made the claim on Sunday Politics on Channels Television while responding to calls for the release of FBI records relating to the president.

He argued that the term “FBI records” should not be confused with “criminal records,” insisting that millions of people, including those who have applied for United States visas, have records with the agency.

According to him, the opposition had deliberately used the phrase “criminal record” to create a wrong impression about the nature of the documents being discussed.

“Nowhere, not the FBI, not the United States government, nowhere has anybody said that the president has an FBI criminal record,” Omokri said.

He added, “The FBI, look, 161 million Americans have FBI records. You, Seun, you have an FBI record.

“If you have applied for a U.S. visa, you have an FBI record. The FBI is mandated by the U.S. government to run checks on everybody who applies for a U.S. visa, on anybody in the United States who applies for a background check because of a job. So, the vast majority of FBI records are non-criminal.”

Omokri further referred to a document he said was an FBI record check conducted in relation to Tinubu, dating back to the early 1990s.

He said the document, which he attributed to the period when Tafa Balogun was the Inspector-General of Police, stated that a record check of the FBI’s National Crime Information Center had been conducted on Tinubu.

According to Omokri, the result of the check was negative for criminal arrest records and warrants.

“The result of the checks were negative for any criminal arrest records, warrants, or warrants for Bola Akmetinibu,” he said.

Omokri also pointed to the date of birth contained in the document, which he said was March 29, 1952, arguing that it supported the president’s publicly declared age.

He said, “Now another interesting thing you’ll find is that the FBI data here states his date of birth as 29 March 1952.”

The ambassador-designate, however, said the issue of why the records should not be released publicly should be considered separately from whether the president has a criminal record.

He argued that FBI records could contain sensitive personal information, including biometric and other identifying data, and therefore should not automatically be made public.

“The President has no criminal record. These are FBI records, which everybody has,” Omokri said.

“I have an FBI record. You have an FBI record.”

To support his argument on the sensitivity of such records, Omokri referred to a previous controversy involving Nigerian singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, over a paternity allegation.

He recalled that a man involved in the matter had reportedly said some documents could not be publicly released because they contained DNA information.

Omokri argued that the same principle applied to the president, saying the release of sensitive biometric information could expose individuals to privacy and security risks.

“That is why the President does not want to release these FBI records, because the FBI records, they contain your DNA records,” he said.

He further claimed that such records could contain information such as blood group, fingerprints and other biometric details.

“They contain your blood group. They contain your fingerprints, biometrics. So when you go to the U.S. Embassy and you take your biometrics, it goes directly to the FBI,” Omokri said.

He also claimed that information provided during visa applications, including financial and family details, could be accessible to US authorities.

The controversy over Tinubu’s records has featured prominently in Nigeria’s political discourse, particularly amid opposition scrutiny of the president’s background and past activities in the United States.

Omokri maintained that the existence of an FBI file should not be interpreted as evidence of criminality, insisting that the critical issue was whether the records contained evidence of a criminal conviction, arrest or other wrongdoing.