Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, has accused opposition politicians of using a US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving President Bola Tinubu for political propaganda.
Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, spoke with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo, the Osun capital.
He said the controversy over the case was being exploited by opposition elements to mislead Nigerians and gain political advantage ahead of the 2027 general election.
Oyintiloye said the matter before a US court is an FOIA lawsuit seeking access to records held by American law-enforcement agencies and does not amount to a criminal prosecution or retrial of Tinubu.
“An FOIA case is about access to government records. It is not a criminal trial, a retrial or a judicial declaration of guilt,” he said.
The APC chieftain said no US court had reopened or ordered a criminal retrial against Tinubu, adding that no American judge had pronounced the president guilty of drug trafficking.
He said that records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of criminality.
Oyintiloye said investigative files may contain unproven allegations, leads or information supplied by third parties.
He also cited FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects certain law enforcement records from disclosure where releasing them could constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
He urged Nigerians and the media to avoid “trial by document”, adding that allegations against Tinubu had repeatedly resurfaced at critical points in his political career.
He recalled that controversies surrounding Tinubu’s academic credentials generated extensive public debate during his two-term tenure as Lagos governor between 1999 and 2007, and resurfaced during the 2023 presidential election.
The APC chieftain accused opposition politicians of recycling allegations bordering on certificate forgery, criminality and drug trafficking instead of presenting Nigerians with alternative policies and programmes.
He challenged opposition parties to tell Nigerians what they would do differently if elected in 2027.
“The opposition should tell us their manifesto, not blackmail. Tell Nigerians what you have on the table and why they should vote for you,” he said.
Oyintiloye said politicians should be judged based on their ideas, manifestoes, records and performance rather than personality attacks.
He also urged Nigerians to scrutinise political claims and distinguish between allegations, investigations, charges and convictions.
“Privacy is not a crime. An investigation is not a conviction. A document is not automatically a fact simply because it bears the seal of a government agency,” he added.
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