Atiku’s US Lobby Firm Says It Submitted Tinubu Forfeiture Case Records to Trump Administration, Congress

A Washington-based lobbying firm retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has disclosed that it has begun circulating United States Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to a decades-old civil forfeiture case involving President Bola Tinubu to officials in the Donald Trump administration and members of the US Congress.

The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., said it shared more than 60 pages of DOJ documents and related court records after holding discussions with officials in the US executive and legislative branches.

According to the firm, the documents concern a 1993 civil forfeiture case arising from a US investigation into alleged narcotics proceeds and money laundering involving bank accounts linked to Tinubu.

In a statement posted on X, the lobbying firm said some of the officials it met were previously unaware of the historical case, adding that the records were provided to ensure they had access to relevant background documents.

The firm was hired by Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, under a 12-month lobbying contract reportedly worth $1.2 million. Its mandate includes diplomatic engagement and advocacy on issues relating to Nigeria-US relations.

Among the documents circulated is a chronology outlining the 1993 forfeiture proceedings and subsequent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation connected to the release of records relating to the case.

The chronology references a civil action filed by the US Department of Justice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois involving funds the government alleged were proceeds of narcotics trafficking or related money laundering activities.

It also identifies Tinubu, Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele as individuals mentioned in the government’s allegations during the investigation.

The firm said the documents were historical court and Justice Department records and did not indicate that any new legal proceedings had been initiated against the Nigerian president.

President Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to the decades-old allegations. The forfeiture matter has featured in previous political and legal debates in Nigeria, including during the 2023 presidential election, but no new charges have been filed against him in the United States.

Neither the Presidency nor the US Department of Justice had publicly responded to the lobbying firm’s latest disclosure at the time of filing this report.