- Tinubu Seeks To Join US DOJ Request For More Time In Records Case
- The notice was signed by Christopher W. Carmichael and Victor P. Henderson of Henderson Parks, LLC
- In a post on X, Von Batten-Montague-York accused Tinubu of attempting to use the additional time to exert political influence in Washington
President Bola Tinubu has joined a request by the United States Department of Justice for a 10-day extension to respond to a motion seeking the release of records connected to allegations of drug trafficking.
Eko Hot Blog reports that Tinubu’s legal team filed a notice of joinder before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking to be placed on the same timetable as the defendants in the case.
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The filing was made public by Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., a US-based policy advisory and lobbying firm retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
In the notice, Tinubu’s lawyers said they were joining the defendants’ request for additional time to respond to the motion for summary judgment.
“Intervenor joins Defendants’ motion for a 10-day extension of time to file response to the motion for summary judgment,” the lawyers stated, adding that they wanted the responses to remain on the same schedule.
The notice was signed by Christopher W. Carmichael and Victor P. Henderson of Henderson Parks, LLC.
According to the filing, the plaintiff opposed the request for an extension, while the defendant did not oppose it.
The lobbying firm, however, said U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell subsequently denied the request.
In a post on X, Von Batten-Montague-York accused Tinubu of attempting to use the additional time to exert political influence in Washington.
The firm alleged that the extension could provide an opportunity for Tinubu to lobby US officials against releasing the records, potentially citing concerns over US-Nigeria relations and security cooperation between both countries.
It also raised concerns about what it described as possible attempts by US government officials to interfere with the judicial process or the Freedom of Information Act process.
The case, Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, et al., Civil Action No. 23-1816 (BAH), has been before the court for more than three years.
The records being sought concern US investigations and allegations involving Tinubu and suspected drug-trafficking activities.
The matter is connected to a $460,000 asset forfeiture involving Tinubu that has previously been linked to a US federal investigation into a Chicago-based heroin-trafficking network in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Court records and affidavits from US authorities have been cited in relation to the forfeiture proceedings.
In 1993, a US District Court ordered the forfeiture to the US government of $460,000 held in an account in Tinubu’s name. The order stated that the money represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or was involved in transactions that violated money-laundering laws.
Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing and rejected allegations that he was involved in drug trafficking.
His lawyers have maintained that the forfeiture case was a civil in rem action against the money and not a criminal prosecution against Tinubu.
They have also argued that Tinubu was never arrested, indicted, arraigned or convicted of a drug-related offence in the United States.
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