The Nigerian government has dismissed a fresh threat by a United States-based firm to take further legal action over records relating to President Bola Tinubu.
According to the government, the development is a “journey to nowhere.”
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, made the comment in response to the latest statement by Von Batten-Montague-York, a US political advisory and lobbying firm involved in efforts to obtain records from American law enforcement agencies concerning Tinubu.
The firm had accused the Nigerian Presidency and some senior government officials of mounting what it described as a coordinated campaign against its activities in the United States.
In a statement posted on X, the firm said the Nigerian Presidency “loves to dig itself into a hole” and claimed that Tinubu’s alleged campaign against its principal, Dr. Von Batten, now involved presidential advisers Bayo Onanuga and Sunday Dare, as well as Keyamo.
It said the officials’ actions were aimed at disrupting what it described as its First Amendment-protected advocacy and petitioning activities seeking access to records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration concerning allegations about Tinubu’s past.
Responding to the statement, Keyamo simply wrote, “Storm in a teacup; journey to nowhere.”
The firm had said it was preparing two separate actions in response to what it described as the Nigerian government’s involvement in the controversy.
According to the firm, it intends to submit “supplemental evidence” to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, documenting what it called recent developments and arguing that Tinubu should not be allowed to demand privacy over investigative records while members of his administration publicly discuss the controversy surrounding those same records.
The firm said, “You cannot deploy the machinery of your government in the court of public opinion and then run into a U.S. federal court demanding privacy.”
It also said it planned to report what it described as a broader pattern of conduct to the FBI for independent review. The firm said the report would include the alleged public targeting of Dr. Von Batten and reported contacts with the White House concerning his appointment to a presidential commission.
The organisation stressed that it was not claiming that a federal crime had been committed, saying that determination belonged to US authorities.
“When officials of a foreign government, Nigeria, bring their campaign against an American advocate into American institutions, the appropriate U.S. authorities should know,” the firm said.
The latest development comes amid renewed attention to a legal dispute in the United States involving attempts to obtain historical records from the FBI and DEA relating to investigations connected to Tinubu.
The controversy has also generated questions over whether Tinubu could face legal restrictions if he travels to New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, had dismissed such concerns, saying the Nigerian Mission to the UN had not received any communication from the US government indicating that Tinubu would be arrested or prevented from moving freely during the General Assembly.
Ibrahim said protections available to representatives of UN member states were contained in Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement, which provides for protection against impediments while travelling to and from the UN headquarters district.
He explained that the provision covers representatives of member states and their families, as well as UN officials, officials of specialised agencies and people invited to the UN headquarters district for official business.
The ambassador also cautioned against treating allegations as established criminal offences, stressing that accusations must be tested through due process.
According to Ibrahim, simply accusing an individual of a crime does not make the person a criminal, adding that anyone making a criminal allegation should be prepared to prove it beyond reasonable doubt.
He said, “where a conviction cannot be secured in a sensitive criminal matter, the consequences could include substantial compensation.”
Ibrahim also dismissed the suggestion that social media campaigns could lead to Tinubu’s arrest in the United States.
He said, “social media cannot criminalise or arrest President Bola Tinubu, no matter how much the opposition invested in it, those efforts will only end as an exercise in futility.”
The dispute is linked to historical allegations concerning Tinubu and a civil forfeiture case in the United States involving about $460,000 connected to him. The matter did not result in a criminal conviction against Tinubu.
Von Batten-Montague-York has nevertheless continued to pursue access to US government records, while making allegations concerning Tinubu’s alleged links to heroin trafficking during the 1980s and 1990s. Those allegations have not resulted in a criminal conviction against the Nigerian president.
The firm has also previously said there was “no plan to arrest Nigerian President Bola Tinubu over his alleged involvement in heroin smuggling if he attends the United Nations General Assembly this month.”
It nevertheless claimed that the Nigerian president could face a publicity campaign and possible embarrassment in New York.
The organisation further stated, “We will continue to ensure that the White House and Congress fully understand that Nigerian President Tinubu is an alleged heroin trafficker and a liability to President Trump and the United States.”
The Nigerian government has rejected the attempt to portray the records dispute as evidence that Tinubu is facing a criminal prosecution in the United States.
The Presidency has maintained that the case before the US court concerns access to government records and does not mean that Tinubu has been charged with heroin trafficking in the United States.
