Atiku insists Trump can revisit Tinubu’s alleged US drug case as presidency fires back

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has insisted that the administration of United States President Donald Trump can revisit President Bola Tinubu’s alleged narcotics case in the US, dismissing claims by the Presidency that the matter was permanently settled more than three decades ago.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his media office, Atiku accused the Presidency of attempting to “whitewash” Tinubu’s alleged drug scandal, insisting that the records of the President’s forfeiture of $460,000 linked to a narcotics investigation in the United States remain a matter of public record.

The statement was a response to an earlier statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who faulted Atiku for petitioning the US government over Tinubu’s past and described the former vice president as lacking the moral authority to raise the issue.

“Our attention has been drawn to a reckless and shameful press statement signed on behalf of President Bola Tinubu by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga,” Atiku’s media office said.

“The statement attempts to bury the records of the narcotics trafficking case against Bola Tinubu in the US under an unwieldy and hollow essay.”

Atiku said he was surprised that the Presidency argued that the alleged narcotics case had become irrelevant because it was resolved decades ago and Tinubu had since secured electoral mandates.

“This argument essentially admits that Tinubu indeed faced investigation for narcotics trafficking but suggests that his current position as President grants him immunity, thereby wiping the records of his links to the heroin scandal clean,” the statement added.

The former vice president challenged the Presidency to explain why it continued to resist efforts to obtain records relating to the case if it had indeed been conclusively settled.

“We challenge Bayo Onanuga and the Tinubu media team: if the case against their principal is truly time-barred, why are they so panicky about any attempt to revisit it? Why is President Tinubu blocking every move to unravel what is in his FBI/DOJ US files?” the statement queried.

According to Atiku, criminal justice matters can be reopened whenever new circumstances emerge, arguing that the change in political leadership in the United States since 2023 provides an opportunity for American law enforcement authorities to determine whether the matter should be revisited.

“The Presidency’s media team should be reminded that issues of criminal justice are never completely thrown out. They can be revisited at any material time, especially when new circumstances arise. Between 2023 and 2027, there has been a change of leadership in the United States. It is the duty of law enforcement agencies to determine whether the case can be reopened in the interest of justice,” the statement said.

Atiku maintained that reviewing the matter would not amount to an attack on Nigeria but an effort to ensure justice.

“If President Tinubu has nothing to hide about his records in the US narcotics scandal, he should submit himself to the process of revisiting the case instead of resorting to his usual tactics—frustrating disclosures through frivolous court appeals or deploying his media team to issue long, hollow essays aimed at rewriting history for personal gain,” it added.

The latest remarks came hours after the Presidency accused Atiku of diminishing the office he once occupied by lobbying the US government over Tinubu’s alleged past.

In a statement titled, “When will Atiku Abubakar report himself to President Trump?”, Onanuga described the former vice president’s actions as unbecoming of a statesman.

“It is baffling and disappointing that someone who has sought the presidency for over three decades now resorts to reporting the President of Nigeria to US President Donald Trump and members of the US Congress,” he said.

According to Onanuga, Atiku’s lobbyists in the United States had submitted petitions to President Trump and the US State Department concerning Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case, which he insisted had been resolved decades ago without any criminal conviction.

“The matter was resolved over 30 years ago in the United States and has been thoroughly litigated, explained and rendered moot by the electoral mandates conferred on President Bola Tinubu by the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large,” the presidential spokesman stated.

He further argued that reporting Nigeria’s President to a foreign government undermined the country’s sovereignty and dignity.

Onanuga also turned the spotlight on Atiku’s own record, alleging that the former vice president featured prominently in the William Jefferson bribery scandal and was the subject of a 2010 US Senate investigation into foreign corruption.

He further accused Atiku of overseeing a flawed privatisation programme during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, alleging that national assets were sold cheaply to cronies, resulting in job losses and unpaid pensions.

The renewed war of words follows reports that a US lobbying group working with Atiku had petitioned the Trump administration over Tinubu’s past ahead of the 2027 general election.

Tinubu’s alleged links to a narcotics investigation in the United States resurfaced during the 2023 presidential election after court documents showed that he forfeited $460,000 to US authorities in 1993 in a civil forfeiture proceeding.

The controversy has also been fuelled by ongoing legal efforts in the United States by transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan, working with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin, to compel the release of thousands of pages of investigative records relating to Tinubu held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other US law enforcement agencies.

Although the FBI had indicated its readiness to release the records in batches, the process has remained stalled following legal objections filed by Tinubu.