A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has said it briefed members of the US Congress and senior state officials on decades-old allegations linking Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to a narcotics and money-laundering investigation conducted by American law-enforcement agencies.
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The firm said the briefings took place during the Republican National Midterm Convention and named Virginia Congressman John McGuire and Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales among officials it said were approached over the matter.
According to the firm, the renewed campaign centres on records connected with a US investigation dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s and subsequent Freedom of Information Act litigation seeking records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service and US Attorneys’ offices.
The controversy gained renewed attention following an April 8, 2025 decision of the US District Court for the District of Columbia in Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
In that case, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled on FOIA requests seeking law-enforcement records concerning individuals connected to an investigation into money laundering and proceeds allegedly derived from a heroin distribution organisation operating in the Chicago area.
The US Department of Justice’s official summary of the ruling states that public court filings had already acknowledged the existence of an investigation involving the FBI and DEA. The court therefore held that the agencies could not, in certain respects, continue to issue a “Glomar” response — neither confirming nor denying the existence of responsive investigative records — and required them to process the relevant FOIA requests subject to applicable exemptions.
The court proceedings referenced allegations that funds in certain accounts were involved in financial transactions potentially connected with proceeds of drug trafficking. Tinubu was among individuals whose names appeared in the FOIA litigation and related records.
Importantly, however, the FOIA judgment did not find that Tinubu committed heroin trafficking, money laundering or any other criminal offence. It concerned public access to government records and the circumstances in which federal agencies could withhold or refuse to confirm the existence of those records.
Von Batten-Montague-York has nevertheless intensified its campaign, arguing that the underlying records deserve further congressional scrutiny.
The firm said it has also drawn attention to allegations that proceeds linked to the alleged narcotics operation passed through financial institutions, including banks in Virginia.
Separate reports in September 2026 also quoted the lobbying firm as saying it had begun reaching out to lawmakers and senior congressional staff in Washington over the FOIA records and the historical allegations.
The firm has gone further to argue that the allegations could have legal implications for Tinubu after he leaves office, raising the possibility of future US prosecution.
That position, however, remains an assertion by the lobbying organisation. There is no indication in the materials reviewed that US prosecutors have announced charges against Tinubu or decided to prosecute him over the decades-old allegations.
The distinction is significant because an investigation, civil forfeiture proceedings, FOIA litigation and criminal prosecution are legally different matters. The existence of investigative records or a court order requiring agencies to search for and process records does not itself establish criminal responsibility.
The April 2025 ruling dealt specifically with the disclosure obligations of federal agencies under FOIA. The Justice Department’s summary confirms that the court granted and denied parts of competing motions for summary judgment and required certain FBI and DEA “Glomar” responses to be lifted because the existence of the underlying investigation had already been officially acknowledged. (Department of Justice)
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