“Extrajudicial Trial”: Tinubu’s Camp Reacts After American Seeks Release of FBI Doc on President
- President Bola Tinubu applied to a US District Court of Columbia to stop the country’s agencies from releasing records related to his affairs in the country
- Legit.ng learnt that a Freedom of Information (FOI) request was made by an IT consultant, Aaron Greenspan
- Now, President Tinubu’s special adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has reacted to the development, and he attacked opposition leaders and their supporters
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Washington DC, USA - Amid Nigeria's disputed presidential election, Aaron Greenspan, an American citizen and founder of Plainsite, a US-based website, filed an emergency motion on Friday, October 20, at the US District Court, Columbia, Washington DC.
In a statement on Saturday, October 21, President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, alleged that the move is an attempt by the opposition to “stampede” the US court to change its earlier order on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to release documents on Tinubu's forfeiture case of 1993.
Source: Facebook
Greenspan very ignorant of Nigeria's laws: Onanuga
Recall that due to a 1993 Illinois court judgment, Tinubu forfeited $460,000 in two of his bank accounts. The forfeiture was the outcome of an investigation that linked over $2 million in several of Tinubu's bank accounts to proceeds from the banned substance trafficking of Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele, alleged Chicago drug kingpins.
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu's forfeiture case resurfaced with several opposition elements alleging he is a trafficker.
Following the Greenspan twist to the battle to unseat Tinubu as Nigeria's president, Onanuga, via a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) page criticised Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 2023 election. He also did not spare Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) flagbearer.
The Ogun-born media practitioner said that “just like the Chicago State University (CSU) case, this one too in DC will lead to nothing”.
He wrote on Saturday, October 21:
“Atiku had wasted tons of dollars hiring Angela Liu to check President Tinubu's record at Chicago State University. What he got in the main was a confirmation that President Tinubu attended the school, passed out with flying colours, and did not forge any certificate.
"The February 2023 election losers Peter Obi and Atiku are now attempting to cling onto another straw, hoping for magic at the Supreme Court. On Thursday, Peter Obi forwarded to Greenspan, the Supreme Court notice of hearing for the appeal that will begin on Monday 23 October.
"We do not know the brief Obi gave Greenspan, but Greenspan rushed to the District Court in the US capital, with an emergency motion asking the court to compel the FBI to produce documents on our President immediately.
"The FBI had earlier agreed to produce the documents at the end of October. His motion may be heard on Monday 23 October, if all parties agree. To support his motion, the American made some allegations against the judiciary in Nigeria, as fed by David Hundeyin, Obi, and Atiku. He claimed the Supreme Court hearing date which he labelled as sudden, was intended to front-run the release of the FBI documents. To him, the FBI documents are relevant to the case in Nigeria.
"After reading Greenspan's motion, one is left with the impression that the guy is very ignorant of our laws and our democracy and he is nothing but an interloper, in a matter clearly outside US jurisdiction.
"Atiku, Obi and Hundeyin who are his cheerleaders have clearly misled this guy, whose account was suspended by X in June, along with that of his Plainsite.
"To the Obidients, the easily excitable Hundeyin and Atiku followers, I will just implore you to wait until the DC District Court decides on the matter, rather than rushing to the social media space with wild conjectures and extrajudicial trial of Nigeria's elected President.
"Mr Greenspan, who is your collaborator in the latest fishing expedition is not so excitable. On his Plainsite-org, he already posted a reply by IRS that it has no FOIA records on President Tinubu's 1993 civil case.”
What happens if CSU rescinds Tinubu's certificate?
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mallam Mohammed Haruna, said President Tinubu “may still have a leg to stand on” if the institutions he attended in the United States decide to revoke his degrees.
Mallam Haruna said this while responding to an October 7 piece by US-based Nigerian scholar, Professor Farooq Kperogi.
Source: Legit.ng
