Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of his family can move freely within the United States while attending the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Ibrahim, who also chairs the United Nations Committee on Budget and Administration, said the Nigerian Mission to the UN had received no notification from the US government imposing any restriction on Tinubu’s movement during the UNGA.
He made the clarification in a statement issued on Sunday by the Office of Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
According to Ibrahim, Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement protects representatives of UN member states and their families from restrictions that could impede their transit to and from the UN headquarters district.
He explained that the provision requires US federal, state and local authorities to refrain from imposing restrictions on the movement of representatives of member states, their families, UN officials, specialised agencies and individuals invited to the UN headquarters district on official business.
Ibrahim’s comments come amid an ongoing legal dispute in the United States concerning access to records relating to Tinubu.
The dispute stems from Freedom of Information Act requests filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan in 2022, seeking records from several US government agencies. Greenspan subsequently instituted a civil action in 2023, with Tinubu later granted permission to join the proceedings as an intervenor.
The Presidency has repeatedly maintained that the case is a civil records-disclosure matter and not a criminal prosecution against the Nigerian President.
Ibrahim also addressed calls for the release of FBI records allegedly linked to investigations involving Tinubu, stressing that allegations should not be regarded as proof of criminal wrongdoing.
“An allegation is not a crime,” the envoy said, arguing that criminal accusations must be established through due process and proved beyond reasonable doubt before a conviction can be secured.
He recalled that a former Nigerian president, whom he clarified was not Tinubu, had previously been restricted to a 10-kilometre radius around the UN headquarters over a drug-related allegation. According to him, the allegation was never proven.
The ambassador further dismissed suggestions circulating on social media that efforts could lead to Tinubu’s arrest while attending the UN General Assembly, describing such claims as unlikely to succeed.
On participation in the UNGA, Ibrahim noted that attendance by heads of state was ultimately a matter of national priority, pointing out that more than 60 per cent of the current speaking list consisted of vice presidents and foreign ministers representing their respective countries.
He added that presidents could delegate representation when circumstances required.
Ibrahim also explained that US law-enforcement agencies could invite individuals to provide information or statements during investigations and collect identifying information such as personal and family history, educational records and fingerprints.
He said such information could be used to establish links between individuals, groups and networks, while stressing that investigative records were not necessarily made public, particularly in cases involving financial or other criminal investigations.
The envoy urged Nigerians to continue to uphold the national flag and support the economic transformation agenda of the Tinubu administration.
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