A United States lobbying firm associated with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has renewed its demand for the release of documents relating to President Bola Tinubu’s long-running legal case in the US.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, said it would also engage anti-drug advocacy groups, religious leaders and individuals affected by heroin abuse as it continues to pursue the matter.
In a statement posted on its official X account on Saturday, the firm alleged that several US agencies failed to release records connected to claims involving Tinubu and alleged heroin trafficking investigations, despite Freedom of Information Act requests.
The firm said the requests were submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
It identified the requests with the following FOIA numbers: 1588244-000, 1593615-000, 22-00892-F, 24-00201-F and EOUSA-2023-002028.
The lobbying firm said, “The FBI, the Justice Department, and the DEA under President Joe Biden refused FOIA requests to release records concerning Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s alleged heroin trafficking from Nigeria to Chicago.”
It further claimed that the alleged refusal to release the records resulted in a legal battle and said a US district judge had ordered the files to be made available.
The statement added, “The refusal and stonewalling by the Biden Administration led to US District Judge Beryl Howell ordering the Biden Administration in 2025 to release the files. Yet, no files have been released. This is going to change.”
The firm also announced plans to meet with organisations working against drug abuse, religious leaders and people affected by heroin-related deaths in the United States.
It said, “As President Donald Trump has rightfully shown, US agencies must never protect foreign leaders accused of having links to drugs smuggled into the United States.”
The firm added that its planned engagements would focus on what it described as Tinubu’s alleged connection to heroin trafficking in Chicago.
“Next week, we will be engaging with anti-drug organisations, religious leaders, and victims of heroin abuse and deaths regarding President Tinubu’s alleged link to heroin trafficking in Chicago.”
The latest development comes amid renewed political exchanges between Atiku and the Presidency over Tinubu’s 1993 US civil forfeiture case.
Atiku had recently criticised the Federal Government’s response to petitions reportedly submitted by his US lobbying team to President Donald Trump and the US State Department over the case.
Through his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president accused the Presidency of drawing unnecessary attention to the matter by referencing China’s strict laws against drug-related offences.
Atiku was quoted as saying: “It takes a peculiar kind of unintelligence for a spokesman to set out to drag an opponent before a hypothetical Chinese court, only to end up dragging his own principal into the dock.”
The Presidency has consistently rejected the allegations and maintained that the United States has confirmed that there are no pending criminal proceedings against Tinubu.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has also criticised Atiku, accusing him of corruption during his tenure as vice president and arguing that he could have faced severe punishment under China’s legal system.
The dispute over Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case has remained a recurring issue in Nigeria’s political discourse, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
The case, which was concluded more than 30 years ago, involved the forfeiture of funds linked to bank accounts associated with Tinubu.
While the Presidency maintains that the matter did not result in a criminal conviction against the President in the US, opposition figures continue to demand the disclosure of further records connected to the case.
