A Washington-based lobbying firm hired by African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar says it has begun distributing U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to historical drug trafficking allegations involving President Bola Tinubu to members of the Trump administration and the U.S. Congress.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., was engaged by Atiku in March under a 12-month lobbying contract reportedly valued at $1.2 million. Its mandate includes strengthening Atiku’s profile in the United States, engaging U.S. officials, and countering the Nigerian government’s lobbying efforts.
In a statement posted on X, the firm said many U.S. officials were previously unaware of the DOJ’s historical allegations. It added that it was providing more than 60 pages of court filings, affidavits and related federal court decisions to President Donald Trump, lawmakers and senior congressional staff.
The lobbying firm also released a document outlining the 1993 U.S. Department of Justice heroin-proceeds forfeiture case and the 2023 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation connected to the matter.
According to the document, U.S. investigators alleged that a heroin trafficking network operated between Nigeria and the United States from 1988 to 1991. It named Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele in the 1993 civil forfeiture case, alleging that proceeds of the operation were deposited into bank accounts linked to Tinubu.
The document stated that the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture action in 1993, which ended in a negotiated settlement in which part of the funds was forfeited to the U.S. government. It also noted that a FOIA lawsuit filed by journalist Aaron Greenspan in 2023 remains ongoing after a U.S. court ordered federal agencies to process relevant records.
The lobbying firm said it is sharing the chronology, court records and FOIA rulings with the White House and members of Congress for what it described as informational and oversight purposes, especially as Nigeria remains a key U.S. partner and amid reports that President Tinubu is seeking a meeting with President Trump during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
The 1993 forfeiture case was previously raised during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election litigation. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi argued before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that Tinubu should have been disqualified over the forfeiture of $460,000 in the United States.
However, the PEPC ruled that the petitioners failed to prove Tinubu had been convicted of any criminal offence in the United States. The court held that the forfeiture proceedings were civil, not criminal, and found no evidence that Tinubu submitted false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
