Former Rep. Advises Opposition: Tackle Tinubu on Home Soil, Ditch US Legal Pursuits

Kayode Oladele, a former member of the House of Representatives, has called on opposition figures to cease their legal pursuits against President Bola Tinubu in the United States. Instead, he urged them to engage the President on policy matters within Nigeria. In a statement released on Friday, Oladele emphasized that the path to the nation's highest office is determined by Nigerian voters, not by American court proceedings. He refuted allegations linking President Tinubu to a criminal conviction in the US.

Oladele characterized the repeated attempts to present Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case in the United States as proof of a criminal conviction as legally unfounded. He asserted that his examination of federal court records revealed no evidence of the President ever being criminally tried or convicted in the US. "As a federal lawyer practising in the United States, I have examined available federal court records and have not found any court record showing that President Tinubu was ever criminally charged, prosecuted or convicted of any offence in the United States," Oladele stated.

He expressed bewilderment regarding the legal counsel the opposition might be receiving, calling for an end to what he termed "legal tourism" against President Tinubu. "I really don’t know who their lawyers are or what legal advice they are receiving, but there should be an end to this legal tourism against President Tinubu. You cannot manufacture a criminal conviction where none exists," he added.

The former Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Crimes clarified that the 1993 case frequently cited by Tinubu’s adversaries was a civil forfeiture action concerning property, distinctly different from a criminal prosecution or conviction of the President. He stressed that the fundamental difference between civil forfeiture and criminal conviction is immutable, regardless of political rhetoric.

"Where is the indictment? Where is the criminal charge? Where was Tinubu arraigned? Where is the judgment convicting him of drug trafficking or any other criminal offence? There is none," Oladele challenged. He further explained, "An allegation is not a conviction. An investigation is not a conviction. A civil forfeiture proceeding is not, by itself, a criminal conviction. These are elementary distinctions in law."

Oladele pointed out that the forfeiture issue had previously surfaced during the legal challenges following the 2023 presidential election, yet it did not lead to Tinubu’s disqualification. He labeled the renewed efforts to scour US courts and government archives for documents that could impede Tinubu’s potential re-election as a "wild goose chase."

"Every election cycle, we seem to return to the same journey to America in search of an imaginary criminal conviction against Tinubu. At some point, this becomes embarrassing and risks turning those behind it into laughingstocks," he remarked. Oladele maintained that "American courts cannot manufacture a criminal conviction for the convenience of Nigerian politics. If there was no criminal trial and no conviction, no amount of document hunting can retrospectively create one."

He encouraged opposition leaders, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to focus their critiques on pressing national issues such as the economy, security, employment, infrastructure, and education. "Campaigns should be issue-oriented rather than reduced to mudslinging over nothing. Atiku and Obi have every constitutional right to challenge President Tinubu, but let that challenge be based on competing ideas and programmes," he urged.

Oladele concluded by advising: "If they believe they can govern Nigeria better, let them tell Nigerians how. Let them challenge Tinubu on his policies, programmes and performance and allow the electorate to decide." He reiterated that Freedom of Information requests, archival searches, or litigation in the United States cannot serve as a substitute for a judgment of criminal conviction. "If you allege that a man was convicted, produce the judgment of conviction. If you say he was criminally prosecuted, produce the indictment, the charge and the record of the criminal proceedings. You cannot substitute allegations or civil proceedings for a criminal judgment," he asserted.

The former legislator counselled the opposition to prepare for the 2027 political contest rather than continuing an unproductive search for legal shortcuts. "My advice to Atiku and Obi is simple: end the legal tourism and face the issues. Come home and engage President Tinubu politically," he said. "The road to Aso Rock runs through the Nigerian electorate, not through American courthouses. President Tinubu will present his record, his opponents should present their alternatives, and Nigerians will decide who should lead them in 2027."