Release Tinubu’s records, Atiku tells FBI

Former Vice President and presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has called on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release any legally permissible records concerning President Bola Tinubu. Abubakar asserts that Nigerians have a fundamental democratic right to access information about the history and character of their nation's highest elected official.

Responding to the FBI's reported stance that disclosing certain records could endanger lives, Abubakar questioned the scope of this justification. He argued that Nigerians are already confronting severe threats to their lives and livelihoods due to widespread insecurity and economic hardship. "The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying," a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, read.

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The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying

Abubakar criticized the current administration's economic policies, which he claims have exacerbated the suffering of ordinary Nigerians by increasing the cost of essential goods and services. He highlighted terrorism, banditry, hunger, and unaffordable healthcare as daily realities, noting that families once able to afford three meals a day now struggle for even one.

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In the past three and a half years since Tinubu became Nigeria’s President, he has pursued economic policies that have made his government a threat to the daily survival of ordinary Nigerians

He emphasized that the demand for information is not an attempt to involve the United States in Nigeria's electoral process but rather a "humanitarian and democratic appeal rooted in the principle that people have a right to information legitimately available about those who exercise enormous power over their lives." Abubakar maintained that scrutiny of a president's background is essential, particularly in the lead-up to general elections.

The former vice president urged the FBI to release any information relevant to the public interest, provided it does not compromise ongoing investigations. The request underscores a broader debate in Nigeria about transparency and accountability in governance.

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Our demand of American law enforcement is not a call to interfere in Nigeria’s politics. It is a humanitarian and democratic appeal rooted in the principle that people have a right to information legitimately available about those who exercise enormous power over their lives