Tinubu seeks 10-Day delay as Trump-appointed prosecutor moves to release drug investigation files

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally joined the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in seeking a 10-day extension to respond to a motion for summary judgment in a legal battle over the release of records linked to allegations of drug trafficking.

The notice of joiner was filed by Tinubu’s legal team at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and shared online by Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., a U.S.-based policy advisory and lobbying firm retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

In the filing, Tinubu’s lawyers said he was joining the defendants’ request for an extension to ensure that his response remained on the same schedule as that of the other defendants.

“Intervenor joins Defendants’ motion for a 10-day extension of time to file response to the motion for summary judgment (DE 92), in as much as Intervenor requests that the responses remain on the same schedule,” the notice stated.»

The document was signed by Christopher W. Carmichael and Victor P. Henderson of Henderson Parks, LLC.

According to the filing, the plaintiff opposed the request, while the defendant did not.

However, Von Batten-Montague-York subsequently reported that U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell denied the request for an extension.

Lobbying Firm Alleges Political Pressure

Following the development, Von Batten-Montague-York alleged in a post on X that Tinubu was seeking to use the delay to exert political influence in Washington.

The firm claimed that the President could use the additional time to lobby U.S. officials over the potential release of the records.

It alleged that Tinubu could ask his “friends in DC” to argue that releasing the files would damage U.S.-Nigeria relations and affect cooperation between both countries on security matters.

The lobbying firm also called for scrutiny of any U.S. officials who, it alleged, might attempt to interfere with the judicial or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process on Tinubu’s behalf.

These allegations by the lobbying firm have not been independently established in the information provided.

Background to the Case

The matter, Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, et al., Civil Action No. 23-1816 (BAH), concerns a request for the release of records connected to past U.S. investigations involving Tinubu.

The case has been ongoing for more than three years, with the requested records linked to allegations concerning Tinubu and drug-trafficking investigations in the United States.

Previous reports have referenced U.S. court documents relating to the forfeiture of $460,000 associated with accounts connected to Tinubu in the early 1990s.

According to those records, U.S. authorities investigated a Chicago-based narcotics trafficking operation involving heroin trafficking between 1988 and 1991.

A 1993 U.S. District Court order directed the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account bearing Tinubu’s name.

Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and rejected allegations that he was involved in drug trafficking.

His lawyers have also maintained that the forfeiture proceeding was a civil in rem case involving the money rather than a criminal prosecution against Tinubu personally.

They have argued that Tinubu was never arrested, indicted, arraigned or convicted of a drug-related offence in the United States.

The latest filing therefore concerns the timing of responses in the records-release litigation, rather than a new criminal charge against the Nigerian President.

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