A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spent millions of dollars in an effort to prevent the release of records linked to historical drug trafficking allegations against him.
The firm made the allegation in a post on its verified X account on Tuesday.
According to the organisation, Tinubu’s claim that he was not seeking to block the release of the records contradicts the actions of his legal team in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case.
The firm alleged that Tinubu petitioned the court and consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as part of efforts to prevent the records from being made public.
“Despite claiming innocence, Tinubu has spent millions of dollars to ensure that his drug trafficking records are never released,” the firm alleged.
It further argued that although the underlying matter had been described as a civil case, the involvement of US law enforcement agencies in the records dispute indicated that sensitive investigative material was at issue.
The allegation comes amid an ongoing legal dispute over the release of records held by the US Department of Justice, FBI and DEA concerning historical investigations involving Tinubu.
A US District Judge, Beryl Howell, had granted additional time to the office of US Attorney Jeanine Pirro to respond to the request for the release of the records.
Tinubu had also joined the US Department of Justice in seeking a 10-day extension to respond to a motion requesting the disclosure of records related to the drug trafficking allegations.
The allegations contained in the firm’s statement have not, in themselves, established that Tinubu committed any drug trafficking offence, and the dispute remains centred on whether the records should be released under the FOIA.
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