The United States-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has issued another warning over allegations surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s past dealings in the United States.
The firm accused the Nigerian Presidency of attempting to divert attention from records it says are connected to allegations of heroin trafficking involving Tinubu.
In a statement posted on its verified X account on Tuesday, the firm urged the public to remain focused on the records and the ongoing legal dispute in the United States.
The firm wrote, “Since we have provided the world with access to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, court records concerning Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, we expect him and his enablers to once again launch a new round of smear campaigns to distract the public from the truth about his alleged heroin-trafficking past.”
Von Batten-Montague-York also accused its critics of preparing what it described as personal attacks against its founder, Dr Karl Von Batten.
It said, “They will say that Dr Von Batten was born Ikemefuna Okeke—false. They will say that Dr Von Batten took his wife’s name—false. They may even say that Dr Von Batten is Atiku Abubakar’s secret son—again, false.”
The organisation insisted that such claims should not take attention away from the legal proceedings involving records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA.
“The world must not allow the Nigerian Presidency to distract the public from the serious allegations concerning President Tinubu. Stay focused,” it said.
The firm added, “Do not fall for the distraction tactics of President Tinubu, an alleged heroin trafficker desperate to shift attention away from his FBI records. Stay focused.”
Von Batten-Montague-York has repeatedly argued that the American public and Nigerians should have access to records connected to the old US investigation.
The organisation has also become increasingly vocal about what it says are attempts by the Nigerian government to discredit its founder and stop its activities in the United States.
However, the allegations made by the firm remain allegations. Tinubu has not been convicted of heroin trafficking in the United States.
The controversy is partly connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in Chicago involving about $460,000 linked to accounts associated with Tinubu.
The proceeding resulted in the forfeiture of the money to the US government but did not produce a criminal conviction against the Nigerian president.
The current legal battle is instead focused on access to government records under the US Freedom of Information Act.
The case involves records sought from US agencies, including the FBI and DEA. Tinubu has asserted privacy rights over portions of the records, while the agencies have opposed the release of some material on grounds provided under US law.
The Presidency has maintained that the existence of the records or the withholding of portions of them does not establish criminal liability.
Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, previously rejected the lobbying firm’s claims and accused it of presenting political statements as though they represented the position of the US government.
Dare said, “The incendiary press releases being carefully churned out from Washington are public relations propaganda sheets passed off as the view of the U.S. Government. They are not.”
The Presidency has also pointed to the reported $1.2 million, 12-month agreement between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Von Batten-Montague-York.
Von Batten-Montague-York, however, has continued to insist that its campaign is centred on access to government records and accountability.
The firm has also taken its concerns beyond social media. It said it had engaged members of the US Congress and senior congressional staff over the Tinubu-related records.
The dispute intensified further after the firm claimed that an FBI court filing referred to sensitive wiretap material contained in records responsive to requests concerning Tinubu.
The organisation said the FBI had asked the court to restrict the release of the material.
“Update: In the @FBI filing before the court, the FBI asked the court not to allow the disclosure of highly sensitive ‘wiretap’ recordings responsive to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu,” the firm said.
It then made a much stronger interpretation of the filing, claiming that the records could connect Tinubu to an investigation into heroin trafficking.
“In our plain-English reading of the document, the FBI has Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on tape connected to heroin-trafficking crimes,” the organisation claimed. ([NaijaOnPoint][4])
That interpretation has not been established as a finding by the FBI or a US court.
In a related development, NaijaOnPoint reported yesterday that the US Firm, Von Batten-Montague-York disclosed another development in its campaign over the records.
The firm said it was preparing to submit a video transcript as additional evidence in the US court case involving the disputed FBI and DEA records.
According to the organisation, the transcript relates to a video allegedly recorded at an All Progressives Congress, APC, political event.
The firm claimed that Adewale Tinubu, whom it described as President Tinubu’s reported nephew, spoke about the old Chicago case during the event.
Von Batten-Montague-York said the statement was significant because the official court record identifies Patrick S. Coffey, Esq. as Tinubu’s lawyer in the Chicago proceeding.
The firm quoted Adewale Tinubu as saying, “I did that case in Chicago. It was one of my first legal matters,” while describing the statement as part of an account of how the matter was handled.
The organisation argued that the video could become relevant to the privacy argument being advanced in the US court.
It said Tinubu could not publicly discuss matters connected to the old case through people close to him and, at the same time, rely on privacy protections to prevent the release of government records concerning the same matter.
The lobbying firm said it was amending its court filing to include the transcript.
It described the material as “really extraordinary.”
On September 6, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo dismissed the firm’s latest threat of further legal action as a “Storm in a teacup; journey to nowhere.”
Keyamo’s response came after Von Batten-Montague-York accused the Nigerian Presidency of attempting to interfere with its activities in the United States.
The firm had said it planned to submit additional material to the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
It also argued that the Nigerian government’s public comments on the records could weaken Tinubu’s privacy claim before the court.
“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,” the firm said.
Earlier, on September 3, the Presidency had also issued a detailed clarification on the dispute.
It stressed that the case before the US court was about access to government records and not a criminal prosecution of Tinubu.
“The release or withholding of records under FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability,” the Presidency said.
The government further maintained that comments from Karl Von Batten should not be interpreted as statements from President Donald Trump’s administration.
“Dr. Karl Von Batten’s comments represent solely the position of an individual associated with Atiku-linked political interests, not the U.S. government or President Trump,” Dare said.
… US Firm Issues Fresh Warning Over Tinubu’s Drug Allegation Read More on … NaijaOnPoint.
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