US lobbying firm hired by Atiku pushes for release US records on Tinubu

A United States-based lobbying firm engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has intensified efforts to secure the release of historical records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from U.S. federal agencies.

The lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., announced in a statement posted on its official X account that it had submitted more than 60 pages of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) documents to officials within the Donald Trump administration, members of Congress, and senior congressional staff.

According to the firm, the documents relate to a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving bank accounts linked to Tinubu during a U.S. investigation into a Nigeria-to-Chicago heroin trafficking network in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Atiku retained the Washington-based firm in March under a 12-month contract reportedly valued at $1.2 million to support diplomatic engagement, communicate his views on Nigeria-U.S. relations, and liaise with foreign policymakers.

In its latest statement, Von Batten-Montague-York alleged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Department of Justice have yet to fully comply with requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The requests were initially filed by American transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan and resulted in an April 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell directing the agencies to process and release all non-exempt records related to the investigation.

The lobbying firm argued that the agencies have delayed complying with the court’s disclosure order.

“Following discussions with members of the administration, Congress, and senior congressional staff, we began providing Department of Justice documents concerning allegations relating to President Tinubu,” the firm said in its statement.

It added that U.S. agencies “must never protect foreign leaders accused of having links to drugs smuggled into the United States.”

The firm also disclosed plans to broaden its advocacy campaign by engaging anti-drug organizations, religious leaders, and victim advocacy groups across the United States in the coming weeks.

The documents being circulated stem from a 1993 civil forfeiture action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The U.S. government sought the forfeiture of funds held in several bank accounts associated with Tinubu, alleging they were connected to proceeds of drug trafficking.

The case ended in a negotiated settlement in which $460,000 was forfeited to the U.S. government. There was no criminal conviction or admission of wrongdoing by Tinubu.

The matter resurfaced during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election petitions, when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi argued before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the civil forfeiture rendered Tinubu constitutionally ineligible to contest the presidency.

However, the PEPC dismissed the argument, ruling that a civil forfeiture proceeding does not constitute a criminal conviction under the Nigerian Constitution and that the petitioners failed to establish that Tinubu had been convicted of any criminal offence. The Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the judgment.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency nor the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued an official response to the lobbying firm’s latest actions in Washington.