A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu spent millions of dollars in efforts to prevent the release of U.S. government records linked to historical allegations involving him.
The firm made the allegation in a post on its verified X account on Tuesday, as a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case over records held by U.S. law-enforcement agencies continues.
Von Batten-Montague-York argued that Tinubu’s reported position that he was not seeking to prevent the release of the records was inconsistent with actions taken by his legal team in the case.
The firm alleged that Tinubu had intervened in the proceedings, petitioned the court and consulted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over the records.
“Despite claiming innocence, Tinubu has spent millions of dollars to ensure that his drug trafficking records are never released,” the firm said.
It further argued that the involvement of U.S. law-enforcement agencies in the records dispute indicated that the case involved sensitive investigative material rather than being limited to a conventional civil matter.
The allegations come amid an ongoing legal battle over records held by the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and DEA concerning historical investigations involving Tinubu.
What the US Court Case Is About
The dispute stems from Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records relating to past U.S. investigations involving Tinubu. The case has been before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and involves American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
In 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the FBI and DEA to search for and process non-exempt records responsive to Greenspan’s requests. The ruling concerned the agencies’ obligations under FOIA and did not establish that Tinubu had committed a drug-trafficking offence.
Tinubu has previously joined a request by the U.S. Department of Justice for additional time to respond to the proceedings. Judge Howell subsequently set deadlines for the government and Tinubu’s legal team to respond.
More recently, the FBI asked the court for permission to submit sensitive material privately for an in-camera review, a procedure that allows a judge to examine disputed documents confidentially when disclosure could reveal protected law-enforcement information.
The latest development has intensified political and public interest in the case, particularly as the dispute continues over which records can legally be released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
However, the allegation that Tinubu has spent millions of dollars specifically to prevent the records from being released remains a claim by Von Batten-Montague-York and has not been established as a judicial finding.
The firm has been publicly campaigning for greater disclosure of the records and has been involved in the matter on behalf of former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The legal dispute remains ongoing, with the court expected to determine which of the requested records, if any, can be made public under applicable U.S. law.