Atiku’s US Lobbyists Circulate Tinubu DOJ Forfeiture Documents to Trump Officials and Congress

A lobbying firm retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has confirmed that it is distributing US Department of Justice (DOJ) records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case to officials in the Trump administration and members of the US Congress.

Washington-based Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., said the documents, which exceed 60 pages, were shared after meetings with government officials and congressional staff.

The lobbying firm was hired by Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, in March under a one-year contract reportedly valued at $1.2 million. Its mandate includes diplomatic outreach and advancing Atiku’s positions on issues affecting Nigeria-US relations.

In a statement posted on X, the firm said the documents were circulated after discovering that some officials were unfamiliar with the long-standing case.

“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.

The materials include a detailed chronology of the 1993 DOJ heroin-proceeds forfeiture case and the 2023 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation concerning records linked to the investigation.

According to the chronology, the DOJ’s civil forfeiture action followed an investigation into an alleged drug trafficking organisation operating between Nigeria and the United States.

The documents refer to the case United States v. Funds in Account No. 263226700 et al., filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The government alleged that the funds involved were proceeds of narcotics trafficking or money laundering.

Tinubu, Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele were identified in the government’s allegations. Investigators reportedly examined activities between 1988 and 1991 and alleged that proceeds from the suspected network were deposited into bank accounts associated with Tinubu in the United States.

The chronology also states that the DOJ alleged Tinubu controlled several accounts, some of which allegedly contained proceeds of illegal activities. It further identified Akande as an associate allegedly linked to the organisation under investigation, while Agbele was described as someone Tinubu acknowledged knowing through Akande.

The DOJ eventually filed a civil forfeiture action in 1993, which was resolved through a settlement that resulted in part of the funds being forfeited to the US government.

The documents additionally reference journalist Aaron Greenspan’s 2023 FOIA lawsuit seeking access to records held by multiple US agencies. According to the chronology, a Washington, DC, federal court ruled in 2025 that certain agencies could not issue blanket refusals to confirm or deny the existence of records and directed them to process portions of the request.

Von Batten-Montague-York said the FOIA litigation is still pending and that the documents were shared with congressional committees for “informational and oversight purposes,” citing the importance of Nigeria-US relations.

Tinubu’s 1993 forfeiture case also featured prominently during petitions challenging the 2023 presidential election. Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi argued before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the forfeiture proceedings affected Tinubu’s eligibility.

The PEPC, however, dismissed the claim, ruling that Tinubu had not been shown to have been convicted of any criminal offence in the United States. It also held that the forfeiture proceedings were civil in nature and found no proof that Tinubu made false declarations to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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