By Janet Oyeleye
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of his family have unrestricted movement in the United States during the UN General Assembly and cannot be arrested.
Ibrahim, who also chairs the UN Committee on Budget and Administration, said neither the Nigerian Mission in New York nor the Presidency had received any notice from the US government imposing restrictions on the President’s movement for UNGA.
In a statement issued by the Office of Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ibrahim based his position on Section 11 of the 1947 Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, which governs arrangements relating to the UN headquarters in New York.
He said the provision protects representatives of UN member states and their families from any impediment to transit to and from the UN headquarters district.
According to him, US federal, state, and local authorities are required to refrain from imposing restrictions that would interfere with the movement of representatives of member states, their families, UN officials, and persons invited to the headquarters district on official UN business.
The envoy said President Tinubu’s attendance at the General Assembly therefore comes with the protections applicable to representatives of member states participating in official UN activities.
He added that there was no communication from the US government suggesting that the President’s movement had been curtailed.
The clarification follows renewed speculation on social media about the possibility of Nigerian political figures facing legal scrutiny in the United States. Such claims, Ibrahim noted, often blur the distinction between an allegation, an investigation, and an established criminal offence.
He recalled an earlier episode involving a former Nigerian president, stressing that it was not President Tinubu. According to him, the former president was at one time restricted to a 10-kilometre radius from UN headquarters over a drug-related allegation that was never proved.
Ibrahim said the existence of an allegation cannot by itself amount to proof of criminality, and that accusations must be subjected to due process and established beyond reasonable doubt before a conviction.
He described campaigns seeking to criminalise President Tinubu or secure his arrest through social media as futile.
The ambassador also noted that participation in the UNGA is a matter of national priority and that countries retain the discretion to determine who represents them. He said more than 60 per cent of the current speaking list comprises vice presidents and foreign ministers speaking on behalf of their countries.
Ibrahim further explained that diplomatic protections around UN-related movement should not be confused with a blanket prohibition on lawful investigative activity by US authorities. He said US law-enforcement agencies could invite individuals to provide information or collect identifying details where legally authorised, but that such actions do not by themselves establish that a crime has been committed.
He urged Nigerians to distinguish between legitimate scrutiny of public officials and unsubstantiated claims capable of damaging the country’s image abroad.
The UN General Assembly remains one of the most significant annual gatherings of world leaders, providing member states an opportunity to address international peace and security, economic development, climate change, and global governance.
For Nigeria, Ibrahim said, the gathering offers an important diplomatic platform to advance foreign-policy priorities and engage bilateral and multilateral partners.
He called on Nigerians to support the economic transformation being pursued by the Tinubu administration as world leaders converge on New York.
