ABUJA/Nigeria: Comrade Timi Frank, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to permit the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States to proceed with their investigations. This plea comes amid a legal battle initiated by Tinubu in the USA to halt the anticipated release of his records held by the FBI and CIA.
Previously reported in September, it was disclosed that the FBI was set to release approximately 2,500 documents related to President Tinubu in their database, starting in October.
The case has taken an intriguing turn, with Christopher Carmichael, one of the lawyers who represented Tinubu in a controversial academic record case in Chicago, filing motions to appear in an ongoing Freedom of Information action against the U.S. organizations housing these records.
From his statement in Abuja, Frank questioned why a public servant and President of Nigeria, a country regarded as the most populous in Sub-Saharan Africa, would endeavor to obstruct the release of his records by U.S. security agencies if he has nothing to hide. Frank asserted, “By attempting to block the FBI and CIA from releasing records concerning you, you have inadvertently confirmed ‘irreparable’ damage that those records would do, and this is not palatable to the public or conducive to the holier-than-thou persona you now seek to project.”
Frank went on to suggest that Tinubu’s actions confirm a serious criminal record he wishes to keep hidden, and he advised the President to resign before being disgraced by the impending release of these records. Frank added, “You cannot stop Nigerians from asking questions or American security agencies from doing their job.”
The former APC official further expressed his belief that the American court handling Tinubu’s injunction request would follow the precedent set by the Chicago court, which ordered the release of Tinubu’s academic records. Frank appealed to the American Government and its institutions not to be swayed by Tinubu’s efforts to conceal his past from Nigerians. He called on the U.S. judges to act in the interest of Nigerians and the law rather than serving the personal interests of individuals.
In conclusion, Frank urged Tinubu to cease using Nigerian taxpayers’ money to retain foreign lawyers for cases pertaining to issues of identity and perjury.
