FBI Files Put Tinubu’s 1990s US Drug Investigation Back in Spotlight as Atiku-Linked Lobbyist Pushes for Records

FBI Files Put Tinubu’s 1990s US Drug Investigation Back in Spotlight as Atiku-Linked Lobbyist Pushes for Records

A decades-old United States investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned to the spotlight after a Washington lobbying firm engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar circulated U.S. government records concerning the case to officials in the Trump administration and members of Congress.

Von Batten-Montague-York, a U.S. lobbying firm working for Atiku, has been pushing for the release of records relating to a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) battle over documents held by U.S. law-enforcement agencies.

The firm said it had distributed more than 60 pages of Department of Justice documents and related court materials concerning a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving funds that U.S. authorities alleged were connected to narcotics proceeds.

The renewed controversy intensified after an FBI declaration filed in a U.S. federal court in August 2026 reportedly stated that records sought in the FOIA case were compiled during an FBI investigation involving multiple individuals suspected of drug-trafficking offences. The declaration also identified Tinubu as a subject of the investigation, according to excerpts published by the lobbying firm.

What do the records concern?

The documents relate to a U.S. investigation dating to the late 1980s and early 1990s and a subsequent civil forfeiture case filed in federal court in Chicago.

According to accounts of the records, U.S. authorities investigated financial transactions and alleged that certain funds deposited into U.S. bank accounts represented proceeds connected to narcotics trafficking or money laundering.

The 1993 case resulted in the forfeiture of some funds to the U.S. government. However, the proceeding was civil rather than a criminal prosecution, and Nigerian courts have previously noted that there was no established U.S. criminal conviction against Tinubu arising from the matter.

Lobbying campaign

Von Batten-Montague-York, which was reportedly retained by Atiku under a 12-month agreement worth about $1.2 million, has argued that U.S. authorities should release additional records connected to the investigation.

The firm has also urged U.S. agencies to disclose documents sought through FOIA requests filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.

The campaign has placed the historical case back into the political spotlight at a particularly sensitive time, as Nigeria moves toward the 2027 presidential election.

Presidency rejects allegations

Tinubu’s administration has rejected the lobbying campaign as politically motivated.

The Nigerian Presidency said the lobbying firm’s activities were part of an effort to create controversy around the president ahead of the 2027 election, accusing it of presenting political claims as though they represented the official position of the U.S. government.

The controversy therefore centres on two separate issues: what the U.S. government records actually contain and whether their release establishes wrongdoing by Tinubu.

At present, the available documents and reporting establish that Tinubu was connected to a U.S. law-enforcement investigation and that funds associated with the historical case were subject to civil forfeiture proceedings. They do not, by themselves, establish that Tinubu was convicted of drug trafficking or that he committed a criminal offence.

With the FOIA litigation continuing, further records could provide additional information about the investigation and the U.S. government’s historical assessment of the case.