Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has dismissed fears that President Bola Tinubu might be arrested or restricted if he visits the United States, amid renewed debate over allegations linked to his past.
Ibrahim was responding to claims that Tinubu could face legal action during his planned participation in the 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Speaking via a statement, Ibrahim said the Nigerian Mission to the UN had not received any communication from the US government indicating that Tinubu would face restrictions during the Assembly.
He said the protections enjoyed by representatives of UN member states are provided for under Section 11 of the 1947 UN-US Headquarters Agreement, a treaty that shields diplomats and officials from impediments while travelling to and from the UN headquarters district in New York.
“Where a conviction cannot be secured in a sensitive criminal matter, the consequences could include substantial compensation. Social media cannot criminalise or arrest President Bola Tinubu, no matter how much the opposition invested in it; those efforts will only end as an exercise in futility. He has immunity from arrest in the US during UNGA,” the ambassador said.
He added that the provision also covers UN officials, officials of specialised agencies, and persons invited to the headquarters district for official business.
Yoruba Ronu Demands Elder Statesmen Break Their Silence
Meanwhile, the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum has called on former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other prominent Nigerian elder statesmen to publicly address the ongoing legal controversy in the United States involving records relating to Tinubu.
The group, in a statement signed by its President, Chief Akin Malaolu, said the latest developments in the US court proceedings had renewed questions about transparency, accountability and the international reputation of Nigeria’s presidency.
Malaolu called on Obasanjo, former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka and former President Goodluck Jonathan to break what he described as their “graveyard silence” on the matter.
The group acknowledged that an investigation does not amount to a conviction or establish guilt.
“This does not amount to a conviction, nor should anyone pretend that an investigation is proof of guilt,” Malaolu said, but maintained that the reported reference to a criminal investigation involving Tinubu was significant enough to warrant public scrutiny given his position as President.
Malaolu Questions Obasanjo’s Silence, Says Nigeria Is “Bigger” Than Any Individual
Malaolu specifically referenced Obasanjo, who was President when Tinubu served as Governor of Lagos State, and questioned whether the Federal Government at the time had done everything within its power to establish the facts.
"Where are Chief Emeka Anyaoku, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Professor Wole Soyinka, former President Goodluck Jonathan and the other respected Nigerians who have repeatedly spoken out when they believed that the country’s democracy, institutions or reputation were at stake?” he asked, clarifying that the demand was not for a declaration of guilt but for transparency.
“This is not a demand that anyone pronounce President Tinubu guilty. It is a demand for transparency, accountability and answers,” he said, adding: “What is unacceptable is silence.”
Malaolu called on Tinubu to support the fullest lawful disclosure of relevant records, warning that international legal and geopolitical developments, citing Venezuela and Panama as examples, could carry consequences for Nigeria if left unaddressed.
He said that if credible evidence ultimately showed Tinubu’s continued occupancy of the presidency incompatible with the integrity expected of the office, resignation would be the “honourable course,” concluding: “Nigeria is bigger than Tinubu. Nigeria is bigger than Obasanjo. Nigeria is bigger than any individual, political party, ethnic group or political interest. Nigerians deserve the truth. Nigeria deserves accountability.”
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