Explosive Demand: Groups Call for Release of FBI Report on President Tinubu

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the Grassroots Mobilisation Network (GMN) have intensified calls for transparency regarding alleged drug-trafficking records linked to President Bola Tinubu. Both groups have urged United States authorities to release findings from a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report on the matter, while also pressuring President Tinubu to address the allegations publicly or consider resignation.

The APM, through its National Publicity Secretary Yusuf Abubakar, specifically requested that the US authorities release aspects of the FBI report that would not compromise lives, witnesses, investigators, or techniques. Abubakar argued that withholding such information significantly harms Nigeria's security, national integrity, and democratic growth. The APM emphasized the United States' role as a leading democracy in facilitating transparency in the international fight against drug trafficking and corruption.

The APM further highlighted that the drug and other ancillary allegations against President Tinubu, whom they identify as a major contender in the 2027 presidential election, constitute a global issue detrimental to Nigeria's international reputation. They referenced the 1993 $460,000 forfeiture judgment against accounts traced to Tinubu by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, following an investigation into drug-related transactions. The APM contended that this judgment renders President Tinubu ineligible for election in Nigeria, citing Section 137 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and noted Nigeria's adherence to international conventions on drugs and money laundering. The group urged the US to assist Nigerians in electing a leader with clean records.

Concurrently, the GMN, a support group of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), echoed calls for transparency. Its spokesperson, Mr. Peter Emeka, called on President Tinubu to break his silence over alleged references to him in narcotics-related documents reportedly submitted by the US FBI before the District Court for the District of Columbia. Emeka expressed concern over the Presidency's continued silence, stating that Nigerians deserve clarity on an issue with implications for the country’s international reputation. He also criticized Nigeria’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies for allegedly failing to adequately investigate or respond to these public documents, calling it a system failure.

The GMN asserted that President Tinubu's prolonged silence is increasingly disturbing and has the potential to deepen public suspicion. Emeka stated that if the President continues to remain mute, he should quietly resign to save the nation from what the group described as ongoing global embarrassment. The APM's Abubakar supported this view, suggesting that the Tinubu Presidency's sustained efforts to block the report's release heightened suspicions of guilt and desperation for a cover-up.

In a related development, the GMN also demanded greater transparency regarding President Tinubu’s reported three-week vacation in Europe. Given the prevailing national mood and the controversy surrounding the narcotics-related allegations, the group urged the Presidency to provide Nigerians with adequate information about the President’s itinerary and engagements during his absence. The GMN maintained that greater transparency would help dispel speculation, reassure Nigerians, and protect the country’s image and standing in the international community, urging direct address of the issues rather than allowing speculation to dominate public discourse.