Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has written to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), demanding the immediate release of records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Atiku pointedly dismissed the FBI’s claim that the disclosure of Tinubu’s record could endanger lives, emphasising that transparency should not be sacrificed, thus tasked the FBI not to use secrecy as a bulletproof vest.
A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu stated that Atiku insisted that the request was a democratic and humanitarian appeal, not interference in Nigeria’s internal politics.
The ADC Presidential candidate explained that he was not asking the FBI to expose undercover agents or compromise investigations.
Atiku said; “Protect your agents. Protect your sources. Protect legitimate investigative methods. Redact whatever American law genuinely requires you to redact. But do not stretch those protections until they become a bulletproof vest for Tinubu.
“Our demand of American law enforcement is not a call to interfere in Nigeria’s politics. It is rooted in the principle that people have a right to information legitimately available about those who exercise enormous power over their lives.
“Protect your investigators. Protect your sources. Protect your methods. But do not protect the truth from Nigerians. Our people are already paying for bad governance with their lives,” he stated.
The statement said that the FBI’s motion is pending before the US District Court in Columbia as the court is expected to decide whether to allow the secret filing and continue withholding the records.
Atiku particularly linked the demand for Tinubu’s records to the current hardship in Nigeria, which he blamed squarely on the Tinubu removal of fuel subsidy.
According to him; “Fuel affects transportation. Transportation affects food prices. Energy affects production. Production affects jobs. All of them determine whether an ordinary Nigerian family can survive until the end of the month,” Atiku said.
The ADC Presidential candidate renewed his pledge to reverse the subsidy removal if elected in 2027, and assured of an alternative that would be “accountable and insulated from abuse”.
Atiku disagreed with the FBI’s attempt not to disclose the records on the ground that it could endanger lives, saying; “Which lives? Nigerians are already dying”.
The FBI, in an application dated August 20, 2026 to the US District Court in Columbia, asked to file an ex parte in camera declarations — meaning secret, judge-only submissions — to explain why it is withholding investigative records linked to allegations of drug trafficking against President Tinubu.
The FBI insisted that it cannot publicly state all its reasons for withholding the documents without compromising agents, sources, and methods.
