A Washington firm says a fresh look at official papers proves Nigerian President Bola Tinubu personally moved to keep old heroin trafficking records locked away.
The firm Von Batten Montague York shared the findings on Sunday after checking US government files over the weekend.
Tinubu and people close to him recently told the world the files stayed secret only because the US Justice Department and FBI wanted to shield methods and protect lives. The papers tell another story.
On 23 October 2023 Tinubu filed a formal request in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He asked to enter a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit started by American Aaron Greenspan. Greenspan wanted records from the FBI DEA IRS CIA and other agencies about a Chicago heroin ring from the late 1980s and early 1990s that prosecutors once linked to bank accounts in Tinubu’s name.
In the motion Tinubu said the records contain private financial and law enforcement information protected by FOIA and privacy laws. He argued the federal agencies were not adequately protecting his personal privacy interests so he needed to enter the case himself. He specifically requested 30 days before any documents were released so he could consult the Justice Department FBI DEA and CIA about what they planned to produce and claim extra exemptions.
The court granted his request to intervene on 27 November 2023. The firm believes that is when the previous administration shifted from delaying the files to fully blocking them.
Two clear facts stand out. Tinubu filed the motion to fight disclosure of IRS and federal law enforcement records concerning him. He also asked for time to consult those agencies and assert more protections. The same files connect to a 1993 civil forfeiture case in which US authorities sought to seize hundreds of thousands of dollars they said came from heroin sales.
Greenspan filed the original FOIA requests in 2022 and 2023 seeking charging decisions money laundering details and interview notes naming Tinubu and three others tied to the ring. Agencies first refused to confirm or deny the records existed. A judge later ordered some of those refusals lifted and directed the FBI and DEA to process the material. Full public release has not yet occurred.
Nigerians at home and abroad are demanding the complete files. They told the FBI that if releasing the records will endanger Tinubu’s life then place him in protective custody first and still release everything because citizens have the right to know. Many compare the situation to the arrest of Venezuela’s Maduro over alleged drug crimes and ask why the same standard is not applied here. They say people are already dying from insecurity and hardship and the truth must come out.
The firm tagged senior US figures including President Donald Trump and members of Congress calling the documents a matter of public interest. Tinubu remains an active party in the case and has supported recent requests for more time.
Nigerians now have clear evidence from the president’s own court papers that he worked to keep the old investigation files hidden while growing numbers of citizens insist the full story belongs to the public.
