Isaac Samuel
The Atiku Media Office has renewed scrutiny of President Bola Tinubu’s past involvement in a United States drug-related case, accusing the Presidency of attempting to “whitewash” the controversy and challenging the President to allow full public disclosure of records held by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In 1993, Bola Tinubu has forfeited $450,000 found in his account in a US bank to the US government. The Court ruled that Tinubu could not account for the money and that it was well shoved his legitimate income. Although Tinubu was then closely linked with convicted drug dealers, he was not charged for any crime.
Presidency spokesman Bayo Onanuga had earlier in the week dismissed Atiku’s recent efforts in bringing up the matter, noting that the matter has long been “settled”. The former Vice President is said to have hired a lobby firm in the US to escalate the matter to the attention of the White House.
But in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, the Atiku Media Office described the Presidency’s response as “reckless and shameful,” alleging that the Presidency was seeking to “bury the records of the narcotics trafficking case against Bola Tinubu in the US under an unwieldy and hollow essay.”
“We are shocked that the Presidency would claim that the narcotics trafficking charges against Tinubu have ‘long been settled’ and rendered moot by an electoral mandate,” the statement said.
“It essentially admits that Tinubu indeed faced investigation on narcotics trafficking but suggests that his current position as President grants him immunity, thereby wiping the records of his links to the heroin scandal clean.”
The opposition media office argued that if the matter had truly been laid to rest, there would be no reason for the Presidency to oppose renewed attempts to obtain or review records relating to the case.
“As the popular Yoruba adage goes: an aged bowl of pounded yam can still steam,” it said.
“We challenge Bayo Onanuga and the Tinubu media team: if the case against their principal is truly time-barred, why are they so panicky about any attempt to revisit it? Why is President Tinubu blocking every move to unravel what is in his FBI/DOJ US files?”
The statement contended that the office of the President demands the highest ethical standards, arguing that unresolved questions surrounding the alleged case have continued to attract international attention.
“The Office of the President is more than a mere political position. It is an office that mirrors the soul of the society it governs. Having an alleged ex-trafficker in that office inflicts serious reputational damage on Nigeria’s image and on every Nigerian on the global stage,” it stated.
The Atiku Media Office also maintained that criminal justice matters could be revisited where fresh circumstances emerge, noting that a change in political leadership in the United States between 2023 and 2027 could provide an opportunity for law enforcement agencies to determine whether any further action is necessary.
“If President Tinubu has nothing to hide about his records in the US narcotics scandal, he should submit himself to the process of revisiting the case instead of resorting to his usual tactics—frustrating disclosures through frivolous court appeals or deploying his media team to issue long, hollow essays aimed at rewriting history for personal gain,” the statement added.
The renewed exchange follows reports that a Washington-based lobbying firm engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has begun circulating historical US Department of Justice court records relating to Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case to members of the Donald Trump administration and the US Congress.
The Presidency has condemned the move, describing it as an attempt to internationalise Nigeria’s domestic politics and insisting that the matter was resolved more than three decades ago without any criminal conviction against Tinubu.
