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A United States-based lobbying firm engaged by African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, says it has begun distributing historical United States Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to President Bola Tinubu to officials in the administration of President Donald Trump, members of Congress and senior congressional staff.
The Washington-based firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., disclosed the development in a statement posted on its X (formerly Twitter) account, saying the documents concern historical allegations investigated by the U.S. authorities involving Tinubu in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
According to the firm, it was retained by Atiku in March 2026 under a 12-month lobbying contract valued at $1.2 million to strengthen his profile in Washington, facilitate engagements with U.S. policymakers and counter what it described as the Nigerian government’s lobbying efforts.
The firm said many officials within the U.S. government were previously unfamiliar with the historical court records and that it had commenced briefing members of the Trump administration and Congress by providing more than 60 pages of DOJ documents, court filings, affidavits and related federal court decisions.
It added that the records would also be made available to relevant congressional committees for what it described as “informational and oversight purposes.”
Among the materials circulated was a document titled “Background and Chronology of the 1993 U.S. Department of Justice Heroin-Proceeds Forfeiture Case and the 2023 FOIA Litigation Concerning Alleged Heroin Trafficking from Nigeria to the United States Involving Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
According to the chronology, the DOJ had alleged that a Nigeria-based heroin trafficking organisation imported heroin into the United States and distributed it through associates operating in Chicago.
The document referenced United States v. Funds in Account No. 263226700 et al., No. 93 C 4483, identifying Bola Tinubu, Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele among individuals named in the government’s civil forfeiture proceedings.
It stated that federal investigators examined the activities of the alleged trafficking organisation between 1988 and 1991, claiming that proceeds from the operation were deposited into bank accounts in the United States allegedly owned or controlled by Tinubu.
The chronology also referred to Akande as the alleged leader of the organisation and described Agbele as an associate who later cooperated with U.S. investigators following his arrest.
According to the document, the Department of Justice instituted civil forfeiture proceedings in 1993, seeking the forfeiture of funds it alleged were proceeds of narcotics trafficking or involved in money laundering.
The case was subsequently resolved through a negotiated civil settlement, under which a portion of the funds was forfeited to the U.S. government.
The lobbying firm further highlighted ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation initiated in 2023 by journalist Aaron Greenspan, who sought the release of records relating to the historical investigation.
It noted that a U.S. District Court in 2025 directed agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to process certain requested records after ruling they could not rely on blanket refusals to confirm or deny their existence.
The firm said the FOIA case remains before the courts.
According to Von Batten-Montague-York, the records are being shared with members of the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government as Nigeria remains a strategic partner of the United States and amid reports that President Tinubu is seeking a bilateral meeting with President Trump during the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly.
The issues surrounding Tinubu’s U.S. civil forfeiture case were extensively litigated following Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
Former presidential candidates Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi had argued before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that Tinubu ought to have been disqualified on account of the 1993 civil forfeiture proceedings.
However, the PEPC dismissed the argument, holding that the petitioners failed to establish that Tinubu had been convicted of any criminal offence in the United States.
The court further ruled that the forfeiture proceedings were civil rather than criminal in nature and found that the evidence presented did not prove that Tinubu submitted false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the matter.
(The Sun)