Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is facing renewed scrutiny in the United States after lobbying firm Von Batten Montague York, L.C. launched another attack over longstanding allegations linking him to a criminal investigation involving heroin trafficking.
In a September 2 statement shared on X alongside an infographic about drug trafficking cases involving world leaders, the firm described Tinubu as a major American security concern and accused him of escaping justice in connection with alleged criminal activity dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.
The firm alleged that records involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration show that Tinubu was allegedly connected to a criminal organization involved in moving heroin from Nigeria into the United States.
The lobbying firm also raised the human cost of the alleged drug trafficking, arguing that the full impact on American families and communities may never be known.
The statement placed the allegations against Tinubu within a wider comparison of foreign leaders who have faced drug trafficking or related criminal allegations and cases in the United States.
The accompanying infographic identified four leaders: Tinubu, former Panamanian military ruler Manuel Noriega, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The graphic describes Tinubu as the President of Nigeria and lists allegations involving drug trafficking related activities, proceeds of trafficking and money laundering. It says U.S. civil forfeiture proceedings were filed in 2023 involving alleged proceeds of drug trafficking and states that there has been no criminal conviction.
The graphic also labels Tinubu as an alleged subject of a U.S. investigation. It says the FBI and DEA file reportedly contained information about his status, while marking that information as unconfirmed.
Noriega is presented differently in the infographic. It identifies him as Panama’s military ruler from 1983 to 1989 and lists allegations involving drug trafficking, racketeering and money laundering. It says he was captured during the U.S. invasion of Panama, extradited to the United States in 1990 and convicted of multiple drug trafficking related crimes. The graphic states that he served 17 years in a U.S. federal prison.
Hernández, who served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, is listed in the graphic in connection with allegations of drug trafficking, using his firms in furtherance of trafficking, conspiracy to traffic drugs and other related conduct.
The infographic says Hernández was extradited to the United States in 2022, convicted in federal court in 2024 on all counts and sentenced to 45 years in prison. It identifies him as a convicted U.S. federal prisoner.
Maduro, identified as Venezuela’s president from 2013 to 2026, is listed separately with allegations involving narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and money laundering.
The graphic says Maduro was indicted in the United States in 2020 and was captured by U.S. forces in Venezuela in 2026. It says he was transferred to the United States and was currently awaiting trial, while also stating that he had pleaded not guilty and remained a defendant in a federal criminal case.
By placing Tinubu alongside leaders who have faced major U.S. drug related prosecutions, the lobbying firm is seeking to increase political pressure on the Nigerian president and draw the attention of American lawmakers to the historical allegations.
The firm further alleged that the administration of former President Joe Biden fought to prevent records concerning the allegations against Tinubu from being released.
It is using the ongoing fight over access to U.S. government records as part of a wider campaign to push Congress and other American officials to examine the historical allegations.
In its latest statement, the firm urged Americans to contact members of Congress and ask lawmakers to protect American families and children from what it described as alleged foreign drug traffickers, specifically including Tinubu.
The campaign comes as the firm continues to argue that the allegations should not be treated solely as an issue for Nigerian politics. It has previously said the matter raises questions about American national security, intelligence cooperation, law enforcement cooperation, counternarcotics efforts and the reliability of Nigeria as a strategic U.S. partner in West Africa.
The renewed attack also comes amid growing attention to Tinubu’s relationship with the Trump administration and reported efforts to secure stronger political ties between Abuja and Washington.
The allegations concern events dating back several decades, long before Tinubu became president of Nigeria. Tinubu has not been convicted in the United States of heroin trafficking.
The central issue now being pushed by Von Batten Montague York is whether historical U.S. government records can shed further light on the allegations and whether Congress should examine them more closely.
The lobbying firm says the matter deserves attention because Tinubu is now the leader of one of Africa’s most important countries and a key U.S. partner in West Africa.
Its latest statement signals that the campaign is not slowing down. Instead, the firm is seeking to move the controversy from public debate and legal records into the halls of Congress, where questions about Tinubu’s past could become part of a much wider discussion about America’s relationship with Nigeria.
