Atiku-linked US lobbying firm urges release of Tinubu records
July 26, 2026 7:06 am
FILE: Atiku Abubakar
A United States lobbying firm linked to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has renewed calls for the release of records relating to President Bola Tinubu’s case in the United States, while announcing plans to engage anti-drug organisations and victims of heroin abuse over the matter.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, made the announcement in a statement shared on its official X account on Saturday, alleging that US law enforcement agencies under former President Joe Biden refused to release documents relating to Tinubu’s alleged links to heroin trafficking investigations despite multiple Freedom of Information Act requests.
According to the firm, the requests were submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
It listed the requests as FOIA numbers 1588244-000, 1593615-000, 22-00892-F, 24-00201-F, and EOUSA-2023-002028.
“The FBI, the Justice Department, and the DEA under President Joe Biden refused FOIA requests to release records concerning Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s alleged heroin trafficking from Nigeria to Chicago.
“The FOIA requests were made by Aaron Greenspan, an American transparency activist. The refusal and stonewalling by the Biden Administration led to US District Judge Beryl Howell ordering the Biden Administration in 2025 to release the files. Yet, no files have been released. This is going to change,” the statement partly read.
The lobbying firm further announced plans to meet anti-drug organisations, religious leaders and victims of heroin abuse in the United States.
“As President Donald Trump has rightfully shown, US agencies must never protect foreign leaders accused of having links to drugs smuggled into the United States.
“Next week, we will be engaging with anti-drug organisations, religious leaders, and victims of heroin abuse and deaths regarding President Tinubu’s alleged link to heroin trafficking in Chicago,” it stated.
The latest statement comes days after Atiku criticised the Presidency over its response to petitions reportedly submitted by his US lobbying team to President Donald Trump and the US State Department concerning Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that Atiku accused the Presidency of scoring a “monumental own goal” by invoking China’s legal system while defending Tinubu against renewed scrutiny over the decades-old case.
The former vice president, through his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, argued that China’s stringent anti-drug laws had only drawn greater public attention to the allegations surrounding Tinubu’s past.
“It takes a peculiar kind of unintelligence for a spokesman to set out to drag an opponent before a hypothetical Chinese court, only to end up dragging his own principal into the dock,” Atiku had said.
The Presidency had earlier dismissed Atiku’s petitions and maintained that the United States had confirmed there were no outstanding criminal proceedings against Tinubu.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga also accused Atiku of corruption during his time as vice president, arguing that if he were Chinese, he would have been imprisoned for his actions.
The exchange is the latest chapter in the political war of words between the Presidency and the opposition over Tinubu’s 1993 US civil forfeiture case, which has resurfaced ahead of the 2027 general election.
The civil forfeiture, concluded more than three decades ago, involved funds linked to bank accounts associated with Tinubu.
The matter has remained a recurring subject of political debate, with the Presidency insisting that no criminal conviction was secured against the President in the United States, while opposition figures continue to demand the release of additional records relating to the case.
Samuel Omotere is an experienced journalist covering human interest stories, pop culture, and digital trends. He combines his background as a language graduate with a focus on sustainable digital storytelling.
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