Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has frowned at the efforts by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a United States of America agency, from releasing his files, reminding US authorities to realize that Nigerians now rely on them to know their President.
The group said the US remains the last resort for Nigerians to know the man leading them because various attempts to unravel who Tinubu is in Nigerian courts have hit the rocks.
Even as President Tinubu, his legal Counsel, has been struggling to stop the release of the FBI records connected to his past, HURIWA has called for transparency and accountability in the process.
The civil rights advocacy group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, expressed concerns about the ongoing developments related to President Tinubu’s records. It noted that attempts by Tinubu’s legal team to impede the release of these documents, much like their earlier unsuccessful effort to block the disclosure of his academic records by Chicago State University, have raised questions about transparency and accountability in the public domain.
HURIWA recalled that lawyers representing Tinubu in the United States have filed motions to intervene in an ongoing Freedom of Information action against various U.S. government agencies, including the FBI and the CIA. This action pertains to records that could shed light on Bola A. Tinubu’s identity and his activities over the years.
The defendants in this legal action include the Executive Office for US Attorneys, US Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), US Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, US Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The application was filed by Tinubu as an intervenor following a Freedom of Information request submitted by IT consultant, Aaron Greenspan.
Revealing that at the heart of the matter is the pressing need for transparency regarding President Tinubu’s past, HURIWA questioned whether President Tinubu fully comprehends the fundamental democratic principles rooted in openness and full disclosure, especially given his role as the leader of over 200 million people.
HURIWA also raised concerns about the unanswered questions surrounding President Tinubu’s history, including allegations from educational institutions that have denied any record of his association, casting doubt on his primary and secondary educational backgrounds.
The group expressed concerns about President Tinubu’s persistent refusal to disclose his father’s identity and the specifics of his past. “Equally perplexing is his reluctance to provide details of his interactions with American authorities in relation to a drug trafficking investigation. Recent attempts to uncover the truth behind this criminal investigation have faced legal hurdles, contributing to the prevailing lack of transparency.
Citing that during prior disclosures, surrogates such as Mr. Festus Keyamo had asserted that the 1992 drug investigation against President Tinubu was related to tax matters, HURIWA thus called on United States authorities to consider themselves as the last resort for the Nigerian people, highlighting that multiple attempts within Nigerian courts to uncover the truth about Bola A. Tinubu have faced obstacles.
“As a result, Nigerians now look up to U.S. authorities to provide them with accurate information about the individual leading their country,” HURIWA said.
The advocacy group strongly urged American authorities not to be influenced by President Tinubu’s efforts to hinder transparency, emphasizing that it’s time for the release of his alleged criminal files. “Nigerians have the right to know the true identity of Bola A. Tinubu,” it stressed.
Furthermore, HURIWA emphasized that Nigerians have an inherent right to be informed about the past record of their president. However, the group expressed regret that every time an opportunity arises for Nigerians to gain insights into the character of the man they refer to as president, President Tinubu appears to employ strategies to hinder such discoveries.
Reiterating its commitment to promoting openness, transparency, and the rights of the Nigerian people to access the truth about their leaders, HURIWA called upon Tinubu to demonstrate the attributes of a statesman and realize that obstructing the quest for information about him only tarnishes the reputation of a country with over 200 million people.
