…’I Stand With You,’ Trump Tells Tinubu, Hails Anti-Terrorism Fight
The presidency on Wednesday released a letter by United States President, Donald Trump, praising President Bola Tinubu’s leadership in the fight against terrorism.
This comes as a US-based lobbying firm hired by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, intensified efforts to revive Tinubu’s 1993 alleged drug forfeiture case in the US.
The presidency released the letter, dated July 6, barely 24 hours after the Washington-based firm announced plans to circulate US Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to allegations of drug trafficking involving President Tinubu to officials in the Trump administration and members of the US Congress.
In the letter, Trump commended Tinubu’s leadership and pledged continued support for Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
“Thank you for your thoughtful letter. Your kind words mean a great deal to me, and I appreciate your decisive leadership on behalf of the Nigerian people. I applaud your resolve to tackle the issues plaguing your nation, especially the violence affecting Christian communities and it is a true honor to stand with you in the fight against terrorists and to make the Federal Republic of Nigeria stronger and more prosperous.
“The United States-Nigeria relationship is crucial at a time where conflict has spread across West Africa and around the world. We both share a mutual goal of confronting terrorism in all its forms, and our historic US-Nigeria 2026 Defence Cooperation Roadmap has established a robust framework to accomplish this feat.
“I am proud to have deployed the United States Special Operations Forces, among the most elite military units anywhere in the world, to equip the brave men and women in the Armed Forces of Nigeria with the skills, tools and intelligence they need to protect your homeland and ensure the safety and security of citizens, particularly those of faith who have been under attack. I look forward to our continued discussions over the course of my Presidency.”
According to President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the letter was signed by Trump.
Trump praised Tinubu’s decisive leadership and his resolve “to tackle the issues plaguing Nigeria, especially the violence affecting Christian communities.”
The presidency recalled that Tinubu and Trump agreed in November last year to establish a Joint Working Group, co-headed by the National Security Advisers of Nigeria and the United States, to deepen cooperation through intelligence sharing, training and joint operations against terrorist groups.
The presidency added that the partnership led to the coordinated May 16 operation against ISIS hideouts in the Lake Chad region, which resulted in the killing of the group’s top leader, Abubakar Al-Minoki, and several of his lieutenants.
It also noted that the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Frank Garcia, visited Nigeria last week for talks with senior government officials on security and other areas of cooperation.
Meanwhile, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., the lobbying firm retained by Atiku under a 12-month $1.2m contract, said it had begun providing more than 60 pages of DOJ documents to members of the Trump administration.
In a post on X, the firm said it intended to ensure that the complete collection of DOJ court filings, a supporting affidavit and related federal court decisions were brought to Trump’s attention.
The firm also released 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, the current President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The chronology revisits allegations that proceeds of a Nigeria-based heroin trafficking organisation were deposited into bank accounts linked to Tinubu.
It stated that between 1988 and 1991, US investigators examined a heroin trafficking organisation operating in the United States and alleged that Tinubu owned and controlled bank accounts that received and transferred proceeds of the operation.
The document identified Adegboyega Mueez Akande as the alleged leader of the organisation and Abiodun Agbele as an associate who later cooperated with federal investigators after his arrest.
According to the documents, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture case in 1993 at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, seeking the forfeiture of funds it alleged were proceeds of heroin trafficking or property involved in money laundering.
The case ended with the civil forfeiture of the funds to the United States government.
The document also outlined a separate Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in 2023 by journalist Aaron Greenspan, seeking records relating to the historical investigation.
It further noted that a US District Court in Washington ruled in 2025 that agencies, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, could not rely on blanket refusals to confirm or deny the existence of records and ordered them to process responsive documents under FOIA. The litigation remains ongoing.
(The Whistler)