ABUJA, Nigeria — Reno Omokri, Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, has insisted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria or anywhere else, dismissing recent reports about FBI files as misleading semantics that confuse ordinary records with criminal ones.
In statements issued late August and early September 2026 on his X platform and in media appearances, Omokri said: “President Bola Tinubu has no criminal record in the United States, Nigeria, or anywhere else, and the FBI has not provided any criminal record on the President to anyone because none exists. Yes, FBI records may contain his name, but they are NOT criminal records.”
He argued that the FBI maintains extensive non-criminal files through systems such as the Central Records System and Next Generation Identification database on US citizens, residents and foreign nationals. These can include biometrics (fingerprints, eye scans), blood group, DNA, bank statements and other personal details generated from routine visa applications or background checks. “A record is just a record. There’s a difference between a record and a criminal record,” Omokri said. He added that all major candidates for the 2027 presidential election have FBI records of some kind.
Omokri pointed to a February 2003 exchange in which then-Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun wrote to the US Embassy seeking information on any FBI criminal records involving Tinubu, then Governor of Lagos State. According to Omokri, the embassy replied the next day stating that a check of the FBI’s National Crime Information Centre returned negative results for any criminal arrest records, warrants or wanted notices for Bola Tinubu. He urged sceptics to verify the correspondence with the US Embassy in Abuja.
He also referenced his own trip to Chicago between 18 and 20 September 2022, undertaken while still in opposition, during which he investigated claims about Tinubu’s records and found the criminal allegations unfounded. Omokri further noted that current discussions stem from a Freedom of Information Act request related to a 1993 investigation, not any new 2026 case.
These recent assertions mark a complete reversal from Omokri’s pre-2023 election rhetoric. In the run-up to the February 2023 presidential vote, Omokri repeatedly and forcefully described Tinubu as a “known drug lord” or “drug baron.”
In June 2022, he posted: “The bigger issue with Tinubu is not his certificates, or lack of them. It is the fact that he is a KNOWN DRUG LORD who was involved in a heroin drug cartel in the US, and forfeited millions in drug funds to US authorities. As any lawyer will tell you, a forfeiture is an admission of guilt! We have the court documents… I again challenge Bola Tinubu to sue me if these facts are not accurate. He is not a fit and proper person to occupy the office of the President of Nigeria.”
In November 2022, Omokri wrote on X: “The only thing Bola Tinubu should be campaigning for is which cell he should occupy at the NDLEA detention facility. Tinubu is a KNOWN DRUG LORD. I went to Chicago to investigate him. He was part of a white heroin drug ring and laundered money for them in Chicago!” He claimed he had obtained certified court documents from Chicago proving Tinubu’s involvement and forfeiture of funds linked to a 1990s heroin trafficking investigation.
In a 2023 Arise TV interview, he reiterated: “Drug lord is not an unprintable name. Bola Tinubu is a known drug lord. I’ve got documents to back it up. I spent my money, went to Chicago, went to court, and got certified true copies. Bola Tinubu is a drug lord.”
Omokri has since publicly retracted those claims. He first signalled a change after Tinubu’s inauguration on 29 May 2023, calling for national support. Following the Supreme Court’s October 2023 judgment upholding Tinubu’s election (which noted the absence of criminal charges or convictions against him), Omokri stated that his earlier position was “wrong” and “fallacious.” In January 2026, amid activist Omoyele Sowore’s trial, Omokri reaffirmed: “I again affirm today… that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not, has never been, and will never be a drug lord.” He said he had apologised in person to Tinubu in October 2024, prostrating on the ground, explaining he had been misled by media reports at the time.
The contrast is stark. Pre-2023, Omokri treated civil forfeiture documents from a 1993 US investigation as proof of criminality and unfitness for office. In 2026, as an ambassadorial nominee confirmed by the Senate, he insists no criminal record exists, distinguishes between ordinary FBI files and criminal ones, and cites official clearances and his own investigations as evidence.
Political observers note the shift coincides with Omokri’s transition from fierce critic of Tinubu (and supporter of opposition figures) to defender of the sitting president. Critics have described it as opportunistic; supporters point to it as an example of willingness to correct course when presented with facts. Tinubu’s camp has not issued a detailed response to the latest Omokri comments, while opposition voices continue to press for full release of any unredacted US records.
The episode underscores the enduring potency of Tinubu’s past US associations in Nigerian politics, even as one of his most vocal former critics now works to neutralise those same allegations.
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