African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has urged the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation to protect its investigators, confidential sources and sensitive investigative methods while releasing records relating to President Bola Tinubu that can legally be made public.
Atiku made the call in a statement issued on Saturday, August 22, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice president was reacting to the FBI’s request to submit confidential explanations to a United States District Court in the District of Columbia over its decision to withhold some records connected to investigations involving Tinubu.
The FBI had asked the court for permission to submit certain declarations ex parte and in camera, meaning the explanations would be presented privately to the judge rather than disclosed publicly.
In an August 20 application, the agency argued that publicly explaining all the reasons for withholding the records could expose sensitive investigative techniques and potentially put lives at risk.
Atiku, however, argued that the FBI could protect genuinely sensitive information through appropriate redactions while releasing documents that are legally available for public scrutiny.
He cautioned the agency against allowing those protections to become a means of shielding Tinubu from lawful scrutiny.
“The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives, but Nigerians are already suffering and dying as a result of the hardship caused by the Tinubu administration’s economic policies,” Atiku said.
He linked the issue to the economic impact of the Federal Government’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy, arguing that the policy had contributed to higher transportation costs, food prices and production expenses.
“Fuel affects transportation. Transportation affects food prices. Energy affects production. Production affects jobs. All of them determine whether an ordinary Nigerian family can survive until the end of the month,” he said.
Atiku stressed that his request did not involve asking the FBI to expose undercover officers, confidential informants or investigative techniques that require protection.
Instead, he said the agency should release information that US law permits to be disclosed.
“This is not an attempt to interfere in Nigeria’s politics. It is a humanitarian and democratic appeal because Nigerians have the right to access information that can legitimately be made public about those who exercise enormous power over their lives,” Atiku said.
The ADC presidential candidate maintained that citizens have a legitimate interest in information concerning the background and character of political leaders, particularly those who hold significant public authority.
He urged the FBI to distinguish between information whose disclosure could genuinely compromise investigations and records that can be released without exposing protected sources, investigative methods or ongoing operations.
The dispute forms part of the ongoing legal battle over access to US records relating to investigations involving Tinubu, with the question of what information can lawfully be disclosed remaining before the US court.
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