President Bola Tinubu is backing the U.S. Department of Justice as they ask for an extra 10 days to answer a legal request. This request aims to make public certain documents about past drug trafficking accusations.
Tinubu’s lawyers submitted a legal notice to a U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C. They asked the judge to give Tinubu the same timeline as the others being sued in this lawsuit.
This legal document was shared online by Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., an American lobbying and advisory group hired by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In their submission, Tinubu’s attorneys explained they are teaming up with the defendants to request a 10-day delay for submitting their reply to a request for an immediate court decision.
The official document noted that Tinubu, as an involved third party, supports the request for 10 more days to respond, asking that everyone’s deadlines stay aligned.
Attorneys Christopher W. Carmichael and Victor P. Henderson from the law firm Henderson Parks, LLC signed the paperwork.
The document mentioned that the person bringing the lawsuit fought against this delay, but the groups being sued agreed to it.
Despite the request, the lobbying group reported that U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell later rejected the plea for more time.
On the social media platform X, Von Batten-Montague-York claimed Tinubu wanted this delay so he could use his political power to sway opinions in Washington.
The group suggested Tinubu might use the extra time to convince U.S. leaders to keep the files secret. They claim he might argue that releasing them would damage the relationship between the U.S. and Nigeria, as well as their shared security efforts.
They also cautioned against any moves by American officials to meddle with the court system or laws meant to keep government information open to the public.
This specific lawsuit, known formally as Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, et al., has been dragging on for over three years.
The files requested in this legal battle involve past U.S. inquiries into Tinubu and claims about his connection to the drug trade.
Earlier news stories connected Tinubu to a $460,000 asset seizure. This seizure was part of a federal probe into a heroin ring operating in Chicago during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Legal files and sworn statements from American officials have been mentioned regarding this seizure.
Back in 1993, a U.S. court ruled that $460,000 in an account under Tinubu’s name had to be surrendered to the American government. The court declared this money came from drug sales or was tied to illegal money laundering.
Throughout all this, Tinubu has strongly denied doing anything illegal and brushed off claims of drug trafficking.
His legal team insists that the 1993 case was strictly a civil lawsuit aimed at seizing the funds, not a criminal trial against Tinubu as a person.
They also point out that he was never detained, officially charged, put on trial, or found guilty of any drug-related crimes in America.
