HEROIN RECORDS: ‘Tinubu runs to friends in Europe’ — US Firm
*Lobby group warns secrecy over FBI, DEA files could fuel ‘puppet president’ claims
*‘Nigeria must have tree, fair election’
By OUR REPORTER
Under the headline “Amid Growing Heroin Allegations, Tinubu Runs to His Friends in Europe,” the firm argued that growing public distrust was being fuelled by the continued withholding of records concerning the allegations.
The controversy over U.S. law-enforcement records linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken another dramatic turn, with U.S. lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. accusing the Nigerian president of “running to his friends in Europe” amid renewed allegations surrounding alleged heroin trafficking.
The firm made the explosive claim in a post on its X handle, warning that the continued secrecy surrounding FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) records could deepen public suspicion that foreign powers are shielding the Nigerian president.
Under the headline “Amid Growing Heroin Allegations, Tinubu Runs to His Friends in Europe,” the firm argued that growing public distrust was being fuelled by the continued withholding of records concerning the allegations.
The firm said a “long-held view” across parts of Africa, the Middle East and South America was that Western powers sometimes install or protect leaders regarded as sympathetic to their strategic interests.
It claimed that “many Nigerians” now believe Tinubu is such a leader and that the undisclosed U.S. records are the “strings” allegedly linking him to foreign protection.
According to the firm, it could not establish whether Tinubu had ever exchanged Nigerian secrets or resources for foreign protection.
“We may never know whether President Bola Tinubu has ever traded Nigerian secrets or resources in exchange for protection,” it said.
However, it argued that efforts by the former Joe Biden administration’s Department of Justice to keep the records from public disclosure had strengthened suspicions among Nigerians that Western powers were protecting Tinubu.
The firm acknowledged that such beliefs could ultimately prove either right or wrong, but warned that continued secrecy was itself becoming a political problem.
“The longer the records remain hidden, the stronger the belief becomes that foreign powers have something they can hold over Nigeria’s president,” it said.
The lobbying firm further warned that the controversy would persist irrespective of the eventual outcome of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation involving the FBI and DEA records.
Turning its attention to Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, the firm called on Western governments to ensure that the election is free and fair, warning that anything short of that could further deepen political distrust.
It said failure to guarantee a credible electoral process could increase the risk of Nigeria experiencing political upheaval similar to developments in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, three West African countries that have undergone military takeovers in recent years.
The latest statement adds another layer to the controversy surrounding U.S. records relating to Tinubu, which has become a politically charged issue in Nigeria.
However, the claims that Tinubu is a “puppet”, that he traded Nigerian interests for foreign protection, or that foreign powers are deliberately shielding him remain allegations and political interpretations by Von Batten-Montague-York. The firm did not provide evidence in the post establishing that Tinubu exchanged Nigerian secrets or resources for protection.
The central battle now remains over what the FBI and DEA records contain, what can legally be disclosed and what conclusions can ultimately be drawn from the documents.
