Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, says President Bola Tinubu and members of his family have unimpeded transit and cannot be arrested in the United States while attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Ambassador Ibrahim who is also Chairman, United Nations Committee on Budget and Administration said the Nigerian Mission in New York had not been advised by the United States government of any restrictions on President Tinubu’s movement during the UNGA.
Ibrahim cited Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement, saying the decision by a president to attend the UNGA ultimately depends on national priorities.
He noted that more than 60 per cent of the current speaking list comprises vice presidents and foreign ministers representing their respective member states.
According to him, in such circumstances, a president may delegate the power of representation.
Ibrahim explained that member states of the United Nations are invited to participate in the high-level event at the UNGA, rather than individual leaders being invited in their personal capacities.
He further explained that under Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement, representatives of member states and members of their families are protected from impediments to transit to and from the UN headquarters district.
He said the provision requires federal, state and local authorities in the United States to refrain from imposing any impediment on the transit of representatives of member states or their families, officials of the United Nations and specialised agencies, as well as persons invited to the headquarters district on official business.
The Nigerian envoy also said a former Nigerian president, who is not President Tinubu, had once been restricted to a 10-kilometre radius from the UN headquarters while attending the UNGA in connection with a drug-related matter.
According to him, the allegation in that case was never proved.
Ibrahim stressed that an allegation of a crime does not, by itself, constitute a crime, noting that criminal allegations must be established through due process.
He said anyone making a criminal allegation must be prepared to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, adding that “where a conviction cannot be secured in a sensitive criminal matter, the consequences could include substantial compensation.”
Ibrahim said allegations in criminal matters must be proved beyond reasonable doubt before an individual can be convicted.
According to him, “social media cannot criminalise or arrest President Bola Tinubu , no matter how much the opposition invested in it, those efforts will only end as an exercise in futility.”
Ibrahim also explained that under the United States legal and law-enforcement system, individuals may be invited to provide information or make statements concerning criminal allegations.
He said law-enforcement authorities typically collect personal information as part of an investigation and identification process.
According to him, such information may include family background, personal history, parental records, children, educational history, fingerprints and other identifying details.
He explained that the information could assist investigators in establishing links between individuals, groups and networks during criminal investigations.
Ibrahim, however, noted that such personal information is protected and is not necessarily part of the materials expected to be made public by an investigating agency in matters relating to financial or other criminal offences.
The Nigerian envoy urged Nigerians to continue to hold the national flag in high esteem and support what he described as the economic transformation being led by President Bola Tinubu.
COURTESY: The Nation Nigeria
