Von Batten Montague York, L.C. says it has submitted new evidence to a U.S. court in a legal dispute involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and drug trafficking records held by the FBI and DEA.
In a statement posted on X on September 7, the law firm said it was amending its Supplemental Notice of Evidentiary Exhibits to include a transcript of a video recorded at an All Progressives Congress political event.
The firm argues that the video could weaken Tinubu’s effort to claim privacy protections over U.S. government records connected to a Chicago case and allegations concerning his past. The allegations have been disputed, and the statement from the law firm does not by itself establish that Tinubu engaged in drug trafficking or that any wrongdoing occurred.
According to the law firm, the video features Adewale Tinubu, described by the firm as President Tinubu’s reported nephew, discussing a Chicago legal case. The firm says Adewale Tinubu claimed he personally handled the matter as one of his first legal cases and said he urged Tinubu to settle.
The law firm says that account conflicts with the official court record it reviewed. According to its statement, the court record identifies Patrick S. Coffey, Esq. as the attorney who represented Bola Tinubu in the proceeding.
The firm further claims that it found no court appearance, pleading, signature or other filing identifying Adewale Tinubu as Tinubu’s lawyer in the case.
That alleged discrepancy is at the center of the new filing.
Von Batten Montague York argues that the video is significant because it places a public discussion of the Chicago proceeding at a political event where Tinubu was present. The firm says this could be relevant to the question of whether Tinubu can continue to claim strong privacy protections over related government records.
The dispute involves Exemption 7(C) of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, a provision that can protect personal privacy interests in law enforcement records. The firm argues that voluntary public discussion of information can reduce the privacy interest protected by the exemption.
The law firm is also challenging the continued withholding of FBI and DEA records relating to the Chicago matter. In its statement, it argues that the records should ultimately become public and says the agencies should reconsider their position.
The statement goes beyond the immediate court dispute, with the firm predicting that the records will eventually be released regardless of which major political party controls the White House.
The latest filing adds another layer to an already sensitive legal battle over access to U.S. government records involving a sitting Nigerian president. Whether the video and the alleged contradiction in the Chicago account will affect the court’s decision remains to be determined.
