A WASHINGTON-based lobbying firm engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that President Bola Tinubu has formally joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for additional time to release records relating to allegations of drug trafficking involving the Nigerian president.
Von Batten-Montague-York disclosed this in a post on its X account on August 18, 2026, saying it had obtained a copy of a filing recently submitted by Tinubu in the case.
The firm said Tinubu’s filing supports the DOJ’s request for a 10-day extension, although it said U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had rejected the full extension and granted only four additional days.
“President Tinubu has now formally joined the Department of Justice’s request for a 10-day extension, which the judge has now swiftly denied,” the firm said.
According to the lobbyists, the court has extended the deadline for the release of the records until August 21.
The firm alleged that Tinubu was seeking to use the additional time to lobby officials in Washington against the release of the records.
“We surmise that President Tinubu wants to use any delay to call upon his friends in DC to argue that the release of these files would harm U.S.-Nigeria relations,” it said.
It further alleged that Tinubu could argue that releasing the records would undermine his ability to cooperate with the United States in addressing terrorism and killings in northern Nigeria.
The firm also attached a copy of joinder filed by one Christopher Carmichael, intervenor of president Bola Tinubu.
This latest development is part of a long-running Freedom of Information Act case filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan against several U.S. government agencies, including the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, over records relating to Tinubu.
The case, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., was filed in 2023 and remains pending before Judge Howell in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In earlier proceedings, the court ordered U.S. agencies to process records relating to the matter for potential release under the FOIA. The litigation concerns records connected to historical U.S. investigations and a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving funds linked to Tinubu.
The allegations stem from claims concerning a heroin-trafficking investigation dating to the late 1980s and early 1990s. Tinubu has denied wrongdoing, while the historical U.S. case resulted in a civil forfeiture proceeding rather than a criminal conviction against him.
The lobbying firm’s latest statement also praised U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro for taking steps to comply with court orders concerning the release of records held by the DOJ, FBI and DEA.
It said Pirro’s office had sought a 10-day extension, but that Judge Howell granted only four additional days because the case had already been pending for more than three years.
The firm said it agreed with the judge that the records should now be released.
“President Trump and the United States do not protect individuals alleged by the DOJ to have been part of a criminal organisation that smuggled heroin into the United States,” it said.
The ICIR reports that Von Batten-Montague-York was hired by Atiku in 2026 under a reported 12-month lobbying contract.
The firm had said it was circulating more than 60 pages of U.S. Department of Justice documents concerning the historical allegations involving Tinubu to members of the Trump administration, Congress and senior congressional staff.
The firm’s latest intervention comes as Nigeria’s 2027 presidential contest begins to take shape, with Atiku emerging as a prominent opposition figure.
Earlier in July, the lobbying firm said it had begun providing DOJ records and related court documents concerning Tinubu to U.S. officials and lawmakers.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M