‘Presidency lied by omission’- US firm reveals key details in Tinubu drug court ruling
A political advisory and lobbying firm based in the United States, Von Batten-Montague-York, has accused the Nigerian Presidency of misrepresenting a U.S. court ruling concerning President Bola Tinubu and allegations of drug trafficking.
The firm made the allegations in response to a report titled “US Court Blocks Discovery Attempt Against President Tinubu in FOIA Suit,” shared by Sunday Dare, the Nigerian Minister of Youth and Sports Development. In a statement posted on social media platform X, the firm noted that while the U.S. court had blocked a request from Aaron Greenspan to serve discovery on Tinubu in a separate case related to alleged hacking by the Nigerian Presidency, the development bore no relation to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case for records involving Tinubu’s alleged drug trafficking connections.
Von Batten-Montague-York contended that Dare’s report omitted important details from the court’s ruling, which it characterized as unfavorable to both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The firm stated: “While @SundayDareSD is correct that the U.S. courts blocked Aaron Greenspan’s request to serve discovery on Nigerian President #Tinubu in an unrelated matter involving alleged hacking, he intentionally omitted key aspects of the ruling.”
The statement continued with several points regarding the court’s decision, highlighting that the court denied cross-motions for summary judgment from the FBI and DEA regarding numerous withheld records. It criticized those agencies for using vague excuses to withhold information linked to Tinubu and an alleged associate involved in drug trafficking.
Furthermore, the statement asserted that the court ruled a detailed affidavit from the Department of Justice, which documented a drug-trafficking investigation involving Tinubu from 1993, was already part of the public record. Therefore, the FBI and DEA could not claim broad privacy exemptions for that information.
The ruling also included a rejection of the DEA’s attempts to withhold documentation using vague, one-sentence explanations. The judge deemed those justifications insufficient, directing the FBI and DEA to review their files in light of the public record and provide specific reasons for any continued secrecy by November 27, 2026.
Von Batten-Montague-York concluded with a warning against trusting statements from the Tinubu administration, claiming the administration misrepresents judicial outcomes to protect its image.
