The Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum has challenged former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar and other prominent Nigerians to speak publicly about ongoing questions surrounding President Bola Tinubu and a legal dispute over United States records.
The group said respected elder statesmen could no longer remain silent while issues concerning the President’s integrity and Nigeria’s international reputation continued to generate controversy.
President of the Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, Akin Malaolu, made the call in a statement on Sunday, insisting that Nigerians deserve transparency over the matters currently being litigated in American courts.
Malaolu specifically referred to U.S. court filings concerning Federal Bureau of Investigation records and said the documents indicate that the records relate to a criminal investigation involving drug-trafficking offences in which Tinubu was reportedly the subject.
He, however, acknowledged that being the subject of an investigation does not amount to a conviction or establish guilt, stressing that the demand was for transparency rather than a declaration of guilt against the President.
The forum questioned whether the Federal Government had done enough to establish the facts surrounding the matter during the period when Obasanjo was President and Tinubu was serving as Governor of Lagos State.
Malaolu said Obasanjo’s reported political alignment with Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election made the former President’s silence more significant in the eyes of the group.
According to him, political considerations should not be allowed to compete with principles when issues concerning the integrity of Nigeria’s highest office are being debated.
The forum also called on Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and former President Goodluck Jonathan to speak on the matter.
Malaolu argued that the named elder statesmen had previously spoken on issues involving Nigeria’s democracy, institutions and international reputation and should therefore demand clarity over the records being contested in the United States.
The group said its position should not be interpreted as a demand for anyone to pronounce Tinubu guilty, but rather as a call for the fullest lawful disclosure of relevant information.
Yoruba Ronu argued that if the records contain nothing capable of implicating the President in wrongdoing, their lawful disclosure could help settle some of the questions surrounding the controversy.
The group also maintained that if legitimate concerns remained after disclosure, Nigerians should be given access to an independent and credible process capable of establishing the facts.
Malaolu warned that continued silence could deepen public suspicion and allow the controversy to remain a recurring political issue ahead of the 2027 elections.
The forum further urged Tinubu himself to support the fullest lawful disclosure of the relevant records in order to address what it described as lingering questions surrounding the controversy.
It said Nigeria’s interests should remain greater than those of any individual, political party or political alignment, while urging national leaders to prioritise accountability.
Meanwhile, a separate dimension of the controversy has emerged involving U.S.-based advocate Dr Von Batten, who has accused senior Nigerian government officials of attempting to frustrate his advocacy and legal activities concerning the records.
Von Batten alleged that presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President Sunday Dare and Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo were involved in what he described as a coordinated campaign against him.
He said he was preparing to submit additional evidence to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as part of the ongoing dispute over access to the records.
Von Batten also argued that the Nigerian government could not publicly engage in arguments over the records while simultaneously seeking privacy protection concerning their disclosure in a U.S. federal court.
Keyamo, however, dismissed the latest allegations, describing the controversy as a “storm in a teacup” and suggesting that the claims would not produce a significant outcome.
The competing claims have added another layer to an already politically sensitive debate surrounding Tinubu’s past records and the extent to which U.S. authorities may disclose documents connected to the matter.
For Yoruba Ronu, however, the central issue remains transparency, with the group insisting that Nigerians deserve clear answers rather than prolonged silence.
The controversy is likely to remain part of Nigeria’s political conversation as the country moves closer to the 2027 presidential election, particularly if further developments emerge from the U.S. legal proceedings.