Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has insisted that there is no criminal FBI record linking President Bola Tinubu to any criminality.
Speaking on the City Boy Movement Podcast, anchored by O’tega Ogra, on Tuesday in Abuja, Omokri dismissed claims that FBI records established criminal involvement by the President.“There is no criminal FBI record against President Bola Tinubu. There’s nothing like that. A record is just that, a record; there is a difference between a record and a criminal record,” he said.
Omokri explained that his position was backed by an FBI record check conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities. The result, he said, was negative for any criminal arrest records, warrants or wanted status for Bola Tinubu.
He clarified that the records being discussed publicly by an opposition candidate stemmed from an earlier investigation and not a new case. “There is no 2026 case. What happened is that a gentleman filed a Freedom of Information Act request. This is not a new case; it relates to a 1993 investigation,” he added.
The ambassador-designate said his current stance on Tinubu was shaped by personal investigations and a readiness to revise his views when presented with verifiable evidence. He recalled travelling to the United States to probe claims about Tinubu’s educational background, accompanied by a witness who remains a supporter of Atiku Abubakar. “I was given incontrovertible evidence that Tinubu attended the school,” he said of Chicago State University.
Omokri further stated that certified documents relating to Tinubu’s civil forfeiture case convinced him that some of his earlier assertions about the President were incorrect. “I was able to get certified true copies of these documents, and they established beyond reasonable doubt that I was wrong. This man was not who I thought he was,” he said.
Previously aligned politically with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Omokri said his support for Tinubu was based on facts and policy outcomes. “I think that I will defend the truth, whether or not I’m an ambassador or anything. Before the President appointed me, I was defending the truth,” he stated.
On the 2027 presidential election, Omokri noted that Tinubu’s economic policies largely mirrored proposals he had earlier advocated while working with Atiku. He cited the President’s Chatham House speech, listing fuel-subsidy removal, exchange-rate reform, devolution of powers and student loans as key areas of alignment. “We said we were going to remove subsidies, float the naira, devolve power from the Federal Government to states and local governments, and finally give student loans,” he said.
Defending the removal of fuel subsidy, Omokri argued that restoring it would impose an unsustainable financial burden on Nigeria and effectively subsidise neighbouring West African countries. “If you bring back fuel subsidy, you are not going to be subsidising Nigeria. You’re going to be subsidising West Africa, and that will destroy our economy,” he warned.
He urged Nigerians to assess the Tinubu administration through measurable outcomes rather than political emotions. “I’m not an emotional person. I’m a fact-driven person, and I believe Nigerians should also become more fact-driven,” Omokri said.
Maintaining that his support did not amount to abandoning his principles, he emphasised that truth, patriotism and Nigeria’s development remained his priorities. “I love this country passionately. If I die today or tomorrow, whenever I die, I want to be known as a patriot,” he declared.
Omokri expressed confidence that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election and called for national reconciliation afterwards. “The President is going to win the next election, and after that, we must all come back and reconcile. Nigeria must continue making progress,” he said.