Tinubu, Family Cannot Be Arrested During UNGA in US — Envoy

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has said President Bola Tinubu and members of his family cannot be arrested while attending the United Nations General Assembly in the United States.

 

Ibrahim, who is also Chairman of the UN Committee on Budget and Administration, said the Nigerian Mission in New York had received no notification from the US government imposing any restriction on Tinubu’s movement during the UNGA.

 

The envoy stated this in a statement issued on Sunday by the Office of the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York.

 

Citing Section 11 of the 1947 UN-US Agreement, Ibrahim said representatives of member states and their families were protected from impediments to transit to and from the UN headquarters district.

 

He explained that the provision required 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 persons invited to the UN headquarters district on official business.

 

Ibrahim’s statement comes amid an ongoing legal dispute in the United States over access to records relating to Tinubu.

 

The Presidency had earlier dismissed suggestions that Tinubu was facing a criminal case in the US, describing an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in Washington, DC, as a civil records-disclosure case.

 

The Presidency said the case, filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, was not a criminal case against Tinubu and that no court had found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.

 

On attendance at the UN General Assembly, Ibrahim said participation remained a matter of national priority, noting that more than 60 per cent of the current speaking list comprised vice presidents and foreign ministers representing their respective countries.

 

He said presidents could therefore delegate representation when necessary.

 

The envoy further explained that US law enforcement authorities could invite individuals to provide information or statements during investigations and collect identifying details, including personal and family history, educational records and fingerprints.

 

According to him, such information could be used to establish links between individuals, groups and networks but remained protected and was not necessarily made public in investigations involving financial or other criminal offences.

 

Ibrahim urged Nigerians to continue to hold the national flag in high esteem and support the economic transformation being pursued under Tinubu.