An Abuja based political analyst, John Adewale, has described as unfounded claims that United States authorities hold criminal records against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A report cited an FBI related letter that was authenticated and admitted as evidence during proceedings before the Presidential Election Petition Court in 2023.
According to the report, the document was presented by Tinubu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, during the legal challenge to the president’s victory in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
The report said the letter originated from a 2003 response by a legal attaché at the US Consulate in Lagos to an official inquiry from the then Inspector General of Police.
It stated that checks conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the National Crime Information Center returned negative results for criminal arrest records, outstanding warrants or wanted records linked to Tinubu.
The report further stated that the document was tendered alongside academic transcripts from Chicago State University and other immigration records in response to issues raised in a petition filed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
It also claimed that the document had been authenticated during the 2023 proceedings and was among the documentary evidence relied upon by Tinubu in defending his election victory.
Adewale said recent claims concerning alleged criminal records against Tinubu, including those attributed to the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar and lobbyist Ikemefuna Okeke Von Batten, amounted to an attempt to reopen an issue he said had already been addressed by the Nigerian courts.
According to him, “Mr Ikemefuna Okeke Von Batten’s claims are unfounded and they are efforts to try to relitigate a matter already settled by the Nigerian courts.”
The analyst maintained that Tinubu does not have criminal records in the United States.
The report also questioned claims attributed to Von Batten concerning an alleged appointment by US President Donald Trump to serve as a commissioner on a US presidential commission.
It said the alleged appointment could not be independently verified from official US government sources or publications.
The report further noted that photographs posted by Von Batten on social media showing him with Trump’s son, Eric Trump, had attracted criticism, with some critics alleging that an older photograph had been cropped and presented in a manner that could suggest it was recent.
As of the time of the report, it said no US government official or publication had publicly confirmed the alleged appointment.
