Atiku Demands FBI Release Records on Tinubu

Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, has formally called on the FBI to make available records concerning President Bola Tinubu, citing Nigerians' constitutional entitlement to know the background and character of their national leaders. In a statement released Saturday through his communications adviser Phrank Shaibu, Atiku argued that the American agency can balance transparency with the protection of sensitive law-enforcement information without completely withholding documents from public access.

The call comes after the FBI declined to publicly release certain investigative records related to allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu. The Bureau filed a motion in August requesting permission to submit confidential declarations explaining its decision to withhold these materials, citing potential danger to individuals as justification for the secrecy.

Atiku challenged this rationale, contending that a danger-to-life argument alone cannot justify keeping potentially disclosable information from scrutiny. The ADC candidate has also connected the disclosure matter to broader governance issues.

He has criticized economic policies under the current administration, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies, and stated he would reverse this decision if elected to office. Atiku framed the records request as part of voters' right to make informed decisions about their leaders before elections.

The FBI documents in question stem from investigations into drug-related allegations connected to Tinubu from earlier decades. The agency's decision to withhold portions of these files has become a point of political contention ahead of Nigeria's next presidential election.

Shaibu's statement emphasized that redacting sensitive law-enforcement data remains possible while still releasing material that bears on Tinubu's fitness for office.