By Uche Amunike
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has dismissed reports suggesting that President Bola Tinubu or members of his family could face restrictions on their movement while in the United States for the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Ibrahim said there was no indication that the US government had imposed any special restrictions on the President’s movement ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.
The ambassador, who also chairs the United Nations Committee on Budget and Administration, disclosed that the Nigerian Mission to the UN had not received any notification from the American authorities concerning restrictions on Tinubu’s movement during the UNGA.
He made the clarification in a statement issued on Sunday by the Office of Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
According to Jimoh Ibrahim, the legal framework governing access to the UN headquarters provides protection for representatives of member states and their families while travelling to and from the headquarters district.
He referred specifically to Section 11 of the 1947 UN-US Agreement, which requires federal, state and local authorities in the United States to avoid imposing impediments on the movement of accredited representatives of UN member states.
The provision, he explained, also covers their families, UN officials, officials of specialised agencies and individuals invited to the headquarters district for official engagements.
Ibrahim’s comments come as questions continue to circulate in relation to a legal proceeding in the United States involving requests for documents connected to President Tinubu.
The Presidency has previously clarified that the matter is a civil Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in Washington, DC, rather than a criminal prosecution of the Nigerian leader.
It said the action, instituted by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, concerns access to records and does not amount to a criminal case against Tinubu. The Presidency also maintained that no US court had convicted or declared the President guilty of criminal wrongdoing.
Tinubu is expected to attend the 81st UN General Assembly in New York and address other world leaders as part of Nigeria’s participation in the high-level diplomatic gathering.
However, Ibrahim noted that attendance by a country’s president was not compulsory, pointing out that several nations are represented at the gathering by senior officials other than their heads of government.
He said more than 60 per cent of those listed to speak at the current session were vice presidents and foreign ministers representing their respective countries.
The ambassador further explained that US law-enforcement agencies could invite people to provide information during investigations and collect certain identifying details where legally permitted.
Such information, he said, could include personal and family history, educational background and fingerprints, depending on the circumstances of an investigation.
Ibrahim explained that the collection of such information could assist investigators in establishing connections between individuals, groups and wider networks. He added that the information obtained during investigations was protected and was not automatically released to the public.
The Nigerian envoy urged citizens to continue to uphold the country’s image and national symbols while supporting the economic transformation initiatives of the Tinubu administration.
