US Firm Says 399 Pages of FBI DEA Files on Tinubu Amount to a Full Book
Abuja / Washington – August 31, 2026 — A United States advocacy and lobbying firm has described nearly 400 pages of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) documents linked to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as far more than a routine file, calling the volume “a book.”
Von Batten-Montague-York made the claim in a recent social media update after learning that an FBI search responsive to long-running Freedom of Information Act requests produced 399 pages of material connected to Tinubu.
The firm, which public records show was retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, questioned what connection to a reported heroin-trafficking organization would generate such a substantial body of records.
“When my amazing team told me that there were 399 pages of FBI and DEA documents linked to Tinubu, I thought I had heard wrong. 399 pages is a book,” the firm stated.
It thanked the Trump administration for what it called greater transparency compared with previous handling of the files and noted that the records relate to a serious drug-trafficking investigation.
Roots in a 1990s Chicago Case
The documents stem from a federal investigation in the late 1980s and early 1990s into a heroin distribution network operating in the Chicago area.
In 1993, U.S. authorities pursued a civil forfeiture action involving funds in bank accounts linked to Tinubu and others, resulting in the forfeiture of approximately $460,000.
Tinubu was named in the civil proceedings alongside individuals including Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele, but he was never criminally charged or indicted in connection with the matter.
American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan has for years sought the release of related investigative files through FOIA requests filed against the FBI, DEA and other agencies.
In 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the agencies could not rely on blanket “Glomar” responses that neither confirmed nor denied the existence of records, ordering them to process non-exempt material.
Ongoing Court Fight Over Disclosure
In recent weeks the case has intensified. The FBI has sought permission to submit certain materials to the court under seal for private (in-camera) review, citing concerns that fuller public disclosure could endanger agents, confidential informants or investigative methods.
President Tinubu has intervened in the litigation, asking the court to block or limit further releases on privacy grounds and arguing that FOIA is not intended to force disclosure of private information for political use.
Tinubu’s U.S. legal team has maintained that no evidence established criminal culpability and that if sufficient proof existed he would have been indicted.
Some documents have already been released in batches over previous years, often with redactions, while agencies continue to withhold portions under FOIA exemptions.
Political Context in Nigeria and Washington
The lobbying firm’s public campaign has amplified attention on the historical records at a sensitive moment in Nigerian politics.
Opposition voices and some civil society groups have called for full disclosure, while the Tinubu administration and its supporters describe the renewed focus as politically motivated.
The firm has circulated background chronologies and related materials to officials in the Trump administration and members of Congress.
For now, the precise contents of the full 399 pages remain largely under judicial control.
What is clear is that a decades-old civil forfeiture case and associated investigative files continue to generate legal, political and public interest on both sides of the Atlantic, more than three decades after the events in question.
The court process continues, with further rulings expected on what additional material, if any, must be released and under what conditions.
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