US lobby firm hired by Atiku claims FBI statement ‘throws Tinubu under the bus’ over drug allegations
By Ishaya Ibrahim
A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., has said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has indirectly confirmed the existence of sensitive records relating to President Bola Tinubu while arguing in court that their release could endanger his life.
In a post on X on Saturday, the firm, recently hired by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, contrasted Nigeria’s political system with that of the United States.
“A little explanation: Unlike in #Nigeria, where President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT) can seemingly order the arrest of an individual, in the United States, we have rules and processes that prevent President @realDonaldTrump from having such powers,” the firm wrote.
The firm referenced an ongoing lawsuit seeking access to US Department of Justice records on Tinubu. It argued that because there is active litigation, the FBI, as a federal agency, “must abide by the process.”
“If President Bola Tinubu was indeed a #heroin trafficker who ‘ratted’ on his co-traffickers and became an informant, the FBI has a duty to protect him, especially if #Tinubu claims to the FBI that the release of these documents would endanger his life,” the post stated.
The firm also drew a distinction between the current Trump administration’s Department of Justice and the previous Biden administration.
“Unlike the @JoeBiden DOJ, which did everything to avoid even admitting that criminal records exist concerning President Tinubu, the #Trump DOJ has made it very clear that such records exist and that they are highly sensitive,” it said.
According to the firm, “The #FBI essentially threw Tinubu under the bus with this statement while still working to keep damaging information about Tinubu private.”
It added that “The #Trump DOJ will follow the law and obey the process, but through its actions and statements, it has made it clear that it will focus on U.S. interests but has no desire to support President Bola #Tinubu’s claim that he was not part of a heroin-trafficking criminal organization.”
Background
The comments come amid a FOIA lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan of PlainSite, seeking FBI and DEA records from the 1990s relating to a Chicago heroin investigation in which Tinubu’s name was mentioned.
In an August 20 filing, the FBI asked a US District Court in Columbia for permission to submit ex parte in camera declarations, arguing that publicly disclosing its reasons for withholding the records “would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations and/or could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”
The Presidency has consistently denied that President Tinubu was convicted of any drug-related offense, saying a 1993 US court forfeiture case involved funds in accounts linked to him but did not amount to a criminal conviction.
