Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has said there is no criminal record held by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mr Omokri made the statement while addressing ongoing discussions surrounding the release and interpretation of documents relating to Nigerian political figures by the FBI.
“There is no criminal FBI record against President Bola Tinubu. There’s nothing like that,” he said.
He added that all presidential candidates in the relevant election had FBI records, stressing that the existence of a record should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of criminality.
“I’m going to say something which might probably shake the country. All of the candidates in this election have FBI records,” Mr Omokri said.
“A record is just a record. There’s a difference between a record and a criminal record.”
His comments come amid renewed public debate in Nigeria over FBI documents and what they may reveal about prominent political figures.
The FBI is a US federal law-enforcement agency, and records it holds can arise from a range of circumstances, including investigations, requests for information and other official processes. The existence of a record does not, by itself, establish that an individual committed a crime.
The controversy has continued to fuel political arguments, with supporters and critics of President Tinubu offering differing interpretations of information relating to his past.
Mr Omokri’s remarks appear aimed at drawing a distinction between the existence of an FBI file or record and a finding of criminal wrongdoing, urging the public not to treat the two as synonymous.
