A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm says Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu may face criminal charges after leaving office in connection with long-running heroin-trafficking allegations. The claim is attributed to Von Batten-Montague-York, which posts on its verified X account and points to court or agency filings it says it reviewed.
The firm says its review does not show that the US government intends to charge Tinubu, but it argues that responses from the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raise questions about any future US investigative or enforcement action. It says that on two separate occasions the FBI and DEA were asked to agree that, more than 30 years later, no investigation is pending and no enforcement proceeding is ongoing related to the underlying cases.
According to the firm, the FBI and DEA refused to confirm those assertions, instead saying they are “not obligated to comment on whether a law enforcement investigation or proceeding may exist.” The Nigerian outlets reporting the matter frame the refusal as significant, though they also relay the firm’s position that the refusal does not itself prove charges are imminent or that proceedings are currently underway.
