Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu has a criminal record with the FBI, insisting that the records being discussed do not establish criminality.
Speaking during a podcast appearance in Abuja, Omokri explained that an FBI record does not automatically mean a criminal record. He claimed that a check conducted following a request from Nigerian authorities returned no criminal arrests, warrants or wanted status against Tinubu.
“People need to understand that a record and a criminal record are two different things. The FBI check that was conducted after a request from the Nigerian authorities came back negative for any criminal arrests, warrants or wanted status against President Tinubu.
The records being discussed by an opposition candidate are from a 1993 investigation. Somebody filed a Freedom of Information Act request to access those documents. Nothing from 2026 triggered them,” he stated.
Omokri also revealed that his position on Tinubu changed after he personally investigated claims about the President’s past. He recalled travelling to Chicago with a witness who supports the opposition and obtaining evidence that Tinubu attended university there.
He further claimed that certified documents relating to a civil forfeiture case convinced him that some of his earlier views about Tinubu were wrong.
On Tinubu’s economic policies, Omokri pointed to fuel subsidy removal, exchange-rate reform, devolution of powers and student loans, saying they were policies he had previously advocated.
He defended the removal of fuel subsidies, arguing that restoring them would put further pressure on Nigeria’s finances and benefit neighbouring countries.
Omokri urged Nigerians to judge the administration by its results rather than political sentiments, expressing confidence that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election and calling for reconciliation afterwards.
