A United States advocacy organisation, VON BATTEN MONTAGUE YORK L.C., says it has alerted members of Congress and the administration of President Donald Trump to longstanding drug trafficking allegations involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu amid reports that Tinubu is seeking an official meeting with the US president.
In a statement published on its website, the organisation said 79,384 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2024 and argued that the country’s drug crisis underscores the importance of ensuring that US foreign policy decisions are made with full knowledge of publicly available records concerning foreign leaders.
According to the organisation, it recently drew the attention of members of Congress and the Trump administration to reports that Tinubu is seeking a meeting with Trump, as well as allegations contained in US court records that it said should be considered before any such engagement takes place.
VON BATTEN MONTAGUE YORK L.C. claimed that the allegations were so serious that the administration of former President Joe Biden declined requests for Tinubu to officially meet then President Biden at the White House. However, no official statement from the Biden White House has publicly confirmed that this was the reason such a meeting did not occur.
The organisation cited the US Department of Justice civil forfeiture case, United States v. Funds in Account No. 263226700, et al., No. 93 C 4483 (N.D. Ill.), in which federal prosecutors alleged that funds linked to accounts associated with Tinubu were proceeds of heroin trafficking and were therefore subject to civil forfeiture. The case was a civil forfeiture action, not a criminal prosecution, and Tinubu has denied wrongdoing.
It also referenced the ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, et al., Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-01816 (D.D.C.), which seeks the release of additional records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies relating to Tinubu’s alleged drug trafficking links.
According to the organisation, one of the major takeaways from its discussions with lawmakers was that many members of Congress were unaware of the allegations and the related court records. It said its current objective is to ensure that President Trump is not placed in what it described as a compromising position and that decisions affecting US foreign policy are made with full knowledge of the publicly available record.
The organisation said it intends to continue engaging with members of Congress and officials in the Trump administration on the issue and indicated that further information would be released in due course.
President Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to past allegations, and no US court has convicted him of drug trafficking.
