Atiku’s US lobbyist forwards Tinubu’s forfeiture case records to Trump, Congress

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has intensified his campaign in the United States as his Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., disclosed that it has begun submitting U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to President Bola Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case to members of the Donald Trump administration, the U.S. Congress, and senior congressional staff.

The lobbying firm, engaged by Atiku under a 12-month, $1.2 million contract, said the documents were being shared to ensure US officials have access to the complete record of the DOJ’s historical investigation and subsequent court proceedings.

In a statement posted on X, the firm said it had started circulating more than 60 pages of DOJ court filings, supporting affidavits and federal court decisions relating to allegations that Tinubu was involved in a heroin trafficking investigation spanning the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The firm also released a chronology of the 1993 forfeiture proceedings, which stated that U.S. authorities investigated a Nigeria-based heroin trafficking organisation and alleged that proceeds were deposited into bank accounts linked to Tinubu.

The records identified Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele among individuals named in the government’s case.

According to the chronology, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture action in 1993 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, with the matter ending in a negotiated settlement under which part of the funds was forfeited to the U.S. government.

The firm added that the records, alongside documents from the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation initiated by journalist Aaron Greenspan, are being provided to House and Senate committees for “informational and oversight purposes”, particularly amid reports that Tinubu is seeking a meeting with President Trump during the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly.

Tinubu’s forfeiture case featured prominently in petitions filed after Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

However, the Presidential Election Petition Court ruled that the forfeiture proceedings were civil, not criminal, and held that the petitioners failed to prove Tinubu had been convicted of any criminal offence or made false declarations to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).