A United States Embassy letter dated February 4, 2003, has resurfaced online, listing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's date of birth as March 29, 1952, in the findings of a criminal record check conducted by the FBI. The document, shared on X by activist and former presidential aide Reno Omokri, includes a certified true copy stamp from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Lagos State.
Background of the FBI Criminal Record Check
The letter was written by Michael H. Bonner, Legal Attaché at the American Consulate in Lagos, and addressed to Tafa Balogun, who served as Inspector General of Police at the time. It was written in response to a formal inquiry Balogun sent on February 3, 2003, seeking information on Tinubu from the FBI's National Crime Information Centre (NCIC).
In the letter, Bonner told Balogun that the NCIC check returned no records of any criminal arrest, outstanding warrants, or wanted notices linked to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, born March 29, 1952. Bonner described the NCIC as a centralised system that holds criminal arrest and conviction records from across the United States and its territories, making clear what the search could and could not capture.
Exact Wording of the FBI Letter
"The result of the checks were negative for any criminal arrest records, wants, or warrants for Bola Ahmed Tinubu (DOB 29 March 1952), nor information of your department," Bonner wrote. The letter made no reference to any financial matters or foreign legal proceedings involving Tinubu.
About the NCIC database, the NCIC is a national database operated by the FBI that tracks criminal history records within the United States. It does not cover financial records, civil proceedings, or foreign criminal histories, meaning a negative result on the NCIC reflects only the absence of a US-based criminal record at the time of the search, not a broader clearance across other jurisdictions or databases.
Public Debate Over Tinubu's Date of Birth
Tinubu's date of birth has been a subject of public debate in Nigeria over the years, making the March 29, 1952 entry in the official US Embassy document a point of note for those following the conversation. The document was shared by Omokri on X, drawing attention to the date of birth recorded for President Tinubu.
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu filed a response in a US district court arguing that records sought by a researcher are protected under US privacy law. The case stems from FOIA requests filed by Aaron Greenspan seeking FBI and DEA files linked to a Chicago drug-involvement investigation from the early 1990s. Tinubu's lawyers argued that personal curiosity about a foreign leader does not meet the legal threshold for public interest under FOIA.
