Tinubu Faces No Arrest Risk in US During UNGA — Envoy
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, has assured that President Bola Tinubu and his family face no risk of arrest or movement restrictions in the United States while attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Ibrahim, who is also Chairman of the UN Committee on Budget and Administration, said the Nigerian Mission had received no notification from the US government indicating any restriction on Tinubu’s movement.
Citing Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement, he said representatives of UN member states and their families are protected from impediments to transit to and from the UN headquarters district.
The envoy recalled that a former Nigerian president had once been restricted to a 10-kilometre radius around the UN headquarters over a drug-related allegation, but stressed that the allegation was never proved.
“An allegation is not a crime,” Ibrahim said, stressing that criminal accusations must be established through due process and proved beyond reasonable doubt before conviction.
He dismissed social media claims linking Tinubu to a possible arrest in the US, saying such attempts would ultimately prove futile.
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