The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to protect its investigators, confidential sources and sensitive investigative methods while releasing any records concerning President Bola Tinubu that can legally be made public.
Atiku made the appeal in a statement issued on Saturday, August 22, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, following the FBI’s request to submit confidential explanations to a US court over its decision to withhold certain records linked to investigations involving Tinubu.
The FBI had asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia for permission to file the explanations ex parte and in camera, meaning they would be presented privately to the judge. In its August 20 application, the agency argued that publicly disclosing all the reasons for withholding the records could reveal sensitive investigative techniques and potentially put lives at risk.
Atiku, however, argued that the FBI could protect sensitive information through appropriate redactions while releasing records that are legally available for public scrutiny. He warned against allowing such protections to be used to shield Tinubu from legitimate public scrutiny.
Atiku also linked the FBI records controversy to the economic hardship Nigerians are facing, particularly following the removal of the fuel subsidy.
He said fuel costs affect transportation, food prices, energy, production and employment, ultimately determining whether many Nigerian families can cope with rising living costs.
The former vice president stressed that his request was not for the FBI to expose undercover officers, confidential informants or sensitive investigative techniques, but for the release of information that US law permits to be made public.
According to Atiku, Nigerians have a democratic right to access legitimate information about individuals who wield significant power over their lives.
He urged the FBI to clearly distinguish between information that genuinely requires protection and records that can be released without compromising ongoing investigations.
