Peter Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu for intervening in a United States court case to prevent the further disclosure of records linked to past investigations involving him.
In a statement titled “A President and the Endless Question of His Past,” Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, said it was “profoundly embarrassing” that a sitting president was asking a foreign court to withhold records of public interest.
Tinubu joined the case as an intervenor and asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia to allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration to maintain redactions and withholdings in records already released under Freedom of Information Act requests.
The requests, filed by Aaron Greenspan of PlainSite, seek documents including FBI interview records from 1992 and 1993 related to an investigation into a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s. Tinubu was among four individuals named in the requests.
“It is profoundly embarrassing that we have reached a point where a sitting President is asking a foreign court to withhold records concerning his past, particularly records relating to matters of legitimate public interest,” Obi said.
He argued that leadership required the courage to confront one’s history, acknowledge mistakes where necessary and provide explanations to legitimate questions. Obi said this was especially important regarding educational credentials.
“Issues surrounding foundational schooling, primary and secondary should not remain unresolved or be addressed primarily through legal proceedings,” he stated, adding that Nigerians deserved “clear, credible, and verifiable explanations.”
Obi said his concern went beyond Tinubu personally and extended to the example set for more than 200 million Nigerians, particularly young people. “The nation’s highest office should exemplify integrity, accountability, transparency, and ethical leadership,” he added.
“The Presidency is an office held for a season; the moral standards established by those who occupy it can influence generations,” Obi said.
The US court is considering further disclosure after an earlier ruling ordered the FBI and DEA to search for and process non-exempt documents responsive to the requests.
