Tinubu Is Not on Trial in America, Presidency Says, But Nigerians Have Already Held the Court Session on WhatsApp

The Nigerian Presidency has had to remind everybody that President Bola Tinubu is not facing a criminal trial in the United States, because apparently Nigerians have already opened their own courtroom on X, WhatsApp and Facebook. According to the Presidency, the matter before the US District Court in Washington, D.C., is a civil dispute under the Freedom of Information Act over whether certain government records should be released or remain redacted.

Now, this is where Nigerian politics becomes interesting. Because once you hear the words FBI, DEA, Tinubu and US court in the same sentence, the average Nigerian does not wait for the judge. Judgment has already been delivered somewhere in a family WhatsApp group. Somebody has screenshotted something, another person has added “BREAKING,” and your uncle who has never visited Washington in his life is explaining American jurisprudence with the confidence of a Supreme Court justice.

The Presidency says the case began after American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan filed FOIA requests from 2022 seeking records from several US agencies. The FBI and DEA have reportedly produced 399 pages of records, although portions remain redacted under exemptions covering things such as grand-jury material, legal privilege, law-enforcement information, personal privacy and confidential sources. Tinubu is participating in the case as an intervenor, meaning he can argue to protect his privacy interests.

And this is the part Nigerians need to understand: a request for government records is not the same thing as a criminal prosecution. Nobody has said a US court has found Tinubu guilty of a crime. The outstanding argument is essentially over what information can legally be released.

But of course, this is Nigeria.

We have somehow reached the stage where the legal process itself is no longer enough. Every document needs a political interpretation, every redaction needs a conspiracy theory and every court filing needs somebody on Twitter shouting, “THE TRUTH IS OUT!”

The Presidency wants people to distinguish between verified court proceedings and political commentary.

Unfortunately, Nigerian political commentary has already entered extra time.

At this rate, the US judge may be the only person in the entire story who is actually waiting to see the evidence before passing judgment.