Tinubu Faces Fresh Legal Pressure as US Court Dockets New Evidence in Alleged Drug Case
By KEMI KASUMU
“You cannot demand privacy in a U.S. federal court while publicly litigating the same controversy and attacking those advocating for disclosure.”
Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly come under fresh legal pressure in the United States following the acceptance and docketing of new submissions by a US-based political advisory and lobbying firm in an ongoing case involving alleged drug-related records.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, disclosed that the US District Court for the District of Columbia has officially accepted its Motion for Leave to File Brief Amicus Curiae and Supplemental Notice of Evidentiary Exhibits in the case.
The firm announced the development in a statement published on its verified X handle.
According to the firm, the documents have now been entered on the court’s docket and are therefore before the judge for consideration, irrespective of whether President Tinubu objects to the filings.
Von Batten-Montague-York described the development as a major victory for both Americans and Nigerians, saying its intervention was aimed at drawing the court’s attention to what it described as public comments on the controversy by officials of the Nigerian Presidency and senior government figures.
The firm also argued that the public comments were made while Tinubu was seeking privacy protections before the US court.
“We are happy to announce that our Motion for Leave to File Brief Amicus Curiae and Supplemental Notice of Evidentiary Exhibits have been officially accepted and docketed with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Both submissions have now been officially entered on the federal docket in Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-01816-BAH. We thank President Tinubu, his advisers, and his ministers for refusing to stop digging themselves into a hole.
“You cannot demand privacy in a U.S. federal court while publicly litigating the same controversy and attacking those advocating for disclosure.
“We are very pleased with this outcome because, regardless of whether the Court ultimately grants or denies our Motion for Leave, our submissions are now on the docket, and the Court has before it evidence concerning public statements by President Tinubu’s officials and relatives about the underlying controversy, as well as their public mischaracterisations of facts relating to the case,” the firm tweeted.
The development comes amid continuing legal and political controversy surrounding records relating to allegations connected to Tinubu and events dating back several decades.
The case, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-01816-BAH, is pending before the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
