Federal

There was no “significant” difference between Mr Tinubu’s nearly one-year performance and that of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, according to a report that outlined the American government’s assessment and scorecard of Nigeria’s human rights practices. Despite many reports that Mr Bagudu was complicit in his deceased principal’s looting of hundreds of millions of dollars from the government treasury—the majority of which have been repatriated to Nigeria by several nations, including France, UK, and Switzerland—Mr Tinubu still forwarded Mr Bagudu’s name as a ministerial nominee to the Senate for screening and confirmation. Mr Tinubu turned a blind eye to Mr Bagudu’s widely reported transgressions, even entrusting him with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning last August. No member of the Senate raised objections about the nomination of the former Kebbi governor despite his infamy with Mr Abacha as they unanimously okayed his appointment, to the shock of many Nigerians and allies of the West African nation, including the United States. “In August, President Tinubu appointed former governor Abubakar Bagudu the Minister of Budget, despite Bagudu’s widely reported history of helping then-President Sani Abacha steal hundreds of millions of dollars from the government in the 1990s,” the U.S. government stated in its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in Nigeria. Mr Bagudu, unfettered by his ministerial position, continued to leech on government funds, initiating moves to block France from repatriating $150 million loot stolen by the late Abacha unless he got a 20 per cent cut. Mr Bagudu claimed he had an interest in the stolen funds and would only back down if paid $30 million, a condition Mr Tinubu’s government was compelled to agree to since it was determined to recover the stolen funds. The move to block the repatriation underscored Mr Bagudu’s brazenness and probable influence on the incumbent president, who still allows him to occupy the ministerial position. That Mr Bagudu is allowed to function as a key member of Mr Tinubu’s administration despite his documented financial misdeeds has done little to inspire the U.S. confidence that Mr Tinubu will be any different from his predecessors.

The FBI said it would comply with the request and release the sought records about 2500 pages in batches of 500 pages monthly starting October, 2023. President Bola Tinubu has applied to intervene and subsequently oppose a motion that would have all his records—criminal or otherwise—released by top U.S. security agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Specifically, Mr Tinubu pleads that he would be “adversely affected” should the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Columbia in Washington D.C. deny his motion to intervene in the matter, according to Bryan A. Carey, the attorney representing the Nigerian leader. “Mr Tinubu should be allowed to intervene because he has a direct interest in the records sought, his interests are not fully represented or protected by defendants, and his interests will be adversely affected if he is not permitted to intervene,” Mr Carey pleaded with the court on Monday in a document obtained by Peoples Gazette. Aaron Greenspan, owner of PlainSite, a website that advocates legal data transparency to end corruption in public service, had in 2022 filed a freedom of information request for Mr Tinubu’s records. Mr Greenspan, a U.S. citizen, collaborated with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin in applying for the request. The FBI, last month, said it would comply with the request and release the sought records about 2500 pages in batches of 500 pages monthly starting October. Nigerians had eagerly anticipated the release of the records hoping they would clarify decades-long controversies about Mr Tinubu’s background and his role in a narcotics dealing that led to his forfeiture of $460,000 in 1993. However, the Nigerian leader is now ferociously fighting to keep those data hidden from the public, much as he did when he sought to prevent his primary opponent, Atiku Abubakar, from accessing his Chicago State University (CSU) records. It is unclear if the same failure that trailed his desperate opposition to have his Chicago State University (CSU) records from being accessed by Mr Abubakar, his main rival in the February elections, awaits him in the quest to block U.S. agencies from complying with federal disclosure regulations. Still, Mr Tinubu’s five-month-old presidency has been beset by legal tussles ranging from allegations of electoral fraud, perjury for lying on an electoral form regarding his Guinean citizenship status, narcotics dealing and presenting forged certificate to the electoral commission, INEC.