Former US mayor Mike Arnold has backed the decision of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) not to release files linked to President Bola Tinubu, saying the decision could have a plausible legal basis.
Arnold made the remarks in an official Facebook post on Saturday, August 22, 2026, amid renewed attention over the FBI files relating to Tinubu.
According to him, the decision not to release the documents could be justified by concerns that disclosure might expose an informant or undercover agent to danger.
Arnold said the United States has stronger systems of transparency and rule of law than Nigeria, although he acknowledged that the American system is not perfect.
He also dismissed claims that the FBI, CIA, a judge or former US President Donald Trump had been paid to prevent the release of the files.
Arnold questioned whether an undercover operative could still face danger more than three decades after the events in question, suggesting instead that an informant may be involved.
He linked the matter to Tinubu’s legal troubles in the United States in 1993, while alleging that the Nigerian president may have provided information about members of a wider drug network.
Arnold suggested that such information could have contributed to US authorities’ actions against the network after Tinubu left the country.
“Not long after Tinubu left the US, the US attacked those networks. Was it based on information Tinubu provided? If so, then yes, releasing the files may well put his life in danger,” he partly wrote.
The former mayor further speculated that information allegedly provided by Tinubu could have helped US authorities identify and target individuals connected to the network.
He also raised the possibility that prominent Nigerians may have been identified through the alleged information.
However, Arnold presented the claims as his personal working theory, stressing that the circumstances surrounding the FBI files remain open to scrutiny.
The allegations have not been independently established in the statement, and Arnold did not provide evidence publicly confirming that Tinubu acted as an informant or that his alleged cooperation with US authorities led to subsequent operations.
