Atiku Opens New Washington Front Against Tinubu With DOJ Forfeiture Files

• Atiku’s Washington-based lobbying firm launches a fresh international campaign by circulating DOJ and court records on President Tinubu’s 1993 US civil forfeiture case to the Trump administration and members of Congress

• More than 60 pages of documents detailing the historical forfeiture proceedings and ongoing FOIA litigation are being shared with senior US government officials for what the firm describes as informational and congressional oversight purposes

• The lobbying effort forms part of Atiku Abubakar’s reported $1.2 million, 12-month advocacy contract aimed at engaging US policymakers on governance, democracy and Nigeria–United States relations

• While the forfeiture case previously featured in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election litigation, both the Presidential Election Petition Court and the Supreme Court upheld Tinubu’s election, ruling that the civil proceedings did not amount to a criminal conviction or constitutional disqualification.

July 22, () — Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has intensified his international campaign against President Bola Tinubu after a Washington-based lobbying firm retained by him disclosed that it has begun circulating United States Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case to officials of the Donald Trump administration, members of the US Congress and senior congressional staff.

The lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., said it has commenced briefing policymakers in Washington with more than 60 pages of Justice Department records, court filings and related legal documents concerning the decades-old civil forfeiture proceedings, describing the exercise as part of its engagement with US officials on matters affecting Nigeria-US relations.

The disclosure marks a significant escalation in Atiku’s international lobbying efforts, coming barely months after he retained the Washington firm under a 12-month contract reportedly worth $1.2 million. The agreement covers diplomatic outreach, congressional engagement, strategic communications and policy advocacy designed to present Atiku’s perspectives on governance, democracy and bilateral relations between Nigeria and the United States.

Lobbyists Brief Trump Administration, Congress

In a statement published on its X account, Von Batten-Montague-York said it held meetings with officials within the Trump administration, members of Congress and senior congressional aides before circulating the documents.

According to the firm, several of the officials it engaged were unfamiliar with the historical forfeiture proceedings, making it necessary to provide background records for their review.

“Following discussions with members of the Trump administration, Congress and senior congressional staff, we began providing more than 60 pages of Department of Justice documents concerning the DOJ’s allegations relating to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s alleged involvement in a heroin trafficking investigation spanning the late 1980s and early 1990s”, the firm said.

It added that the materials were being distributed to congressional committees strictly for informational and oversight purposes, citing Nigeria’s strategic importance to US foreign policy and regional security interests.

Documents Trace 1993 Forfeiture Proceedings

Among the records being circulated is a detailed chronology titled “Background and Chronology of the 1993 U.S. Department of Justice Heroin-Proceeds Forfeiture Case and the 2023 FOIA Litigation Concerning Alleged Heroin Trafficking from Nigeria to the United States Involving Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the current President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

According to the chronology, the 1993 civil forfeiture proceedings arose from investigations by US authorities into an alleged drug trafficking organisation believed to have operated between Nigeria and the United States during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The documents reference the case United States v. Funds in Account No. 263226700 et al., filed before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in which the US government sought the forfeiture of funds it alleged represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were connected to money laundering activities.

The chronology identifies Tinubu, Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele among individuals named in the government’s allegations.

According to the documents, investigators examined financial transactions conducted between 1988 and 1991, alleging that proceeds from the suspected trafficking network were deposited into bank accounts in the United States associated with Tinubu.

The DOJ further alleged that Tinubu controlled multiple bank accounts into which proceeds of unlawful activities were deposited. Akande was identified as an associate allegedly linked to the organisation under investigation, while Agbele was described as another associate whom Tinubu reportedly acknowledged knowing through Akande.

The chronology states that the matter was ultimately resolved through a civil settlement in 1993, with a portion of the disputed funds forfeited to the United States government.

FOIA Litigation Keeps Case in Public View

The documents also provide details of more recent efforts to obtain official records connected with the investigation through the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

According to the chronology, American journalist Aaron Greenspan filed a FOIA lawsuit in 2023 seeking documents from several US federal agencies relating to the historical investigation.

The chronology further states that, in 2025, a US District Court in Washington, DC, ruled that some agencies could not rely on a blanket refusal to confirm or deny the existence of responsive records and directed them to process portions of the FOIA request in accordance with applicable law.

The lobbying firm noted that the litigation remains ongoing and said the documents were being provided to congressional committees to ensure policymakers had access to relevant historical records.

Presidency Yet to Respond

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency nor President Tinubu’s legal representatives had issued any fresh response to the lobbying firm’s latest disclosures.

However, the President has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to the decades-old allegations, maintaining that the forfeiture proceedings did not amount to a criminal conviction.

Matter Previously Determined by Nigerian Courts

The 1993 forfeiture proceedings became a major issue during litigation challenging the outcome of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.

Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, argued before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that Tinubu’s involvement in the US forfeiture proceedings rendered him constitutionally ineligible to contest the election.

The PEPC, however, dismissed the argument, holding that the petitioners failed to establish that Tinubu had been convicted of any criminal offence in the United States.

The court further ruled that the forfeiture proceedings were civil—not criminal—in nature and found no evidence that Tinubu made false declarations to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the matter.

The Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the PEPC’s judgment, upholding Tinubu’s election and effectively bringing to a close the legal challenge over the forfeiture case as a basis for disqualifying him from office.

Although Atiku’s latest lobbying initiative has revived international attention on the historical proceedings, there has been no indication from the White House, the US Congress or the Department of Justice that the circulation of the documents has resulted in any official investigation, diplomatic action or policy review involving the Nigerian President.