A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu may face criminal charges after leaving office over alleged links to a decades-old heroin-trafficking investigation.
The firm made the claim in a post on its verified X handle on Tuesday, following its review of filings involving the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to the firm, however, the documents it reviewed do not establish that the US government plans to charge Tinubu.
It said concerns arose after both the FBI and DEA declined, on separate occasions, to confirm that no investigation or enforcement proceeding relating to the underlying cases remains active.
The firm said the agencies instead maintained that they were “not obligated to comment on whether a law enforcement investigation or proceeding may exist.”
Von Batten-Montague-York argued that the agencies’ refusal to rule out an ongoing investigation raises questions about whether the matter could resurface after Tinubu leaves office.
“Based on our reading of some of the case filings, we believe President Tinubu may face criminal charges after he leaves office, when he no longer has immunity ratione personae, in connection with the heroin-trafficking allegations,” the firm stated.
It added that some individuals linked to the original investigation are now dead, while FBI and DEA filings reportedly reference wiretaps.
The firm, however, acknowledged that the refusal by the agencies to confirm that no investigation exists does not prove that charges are imminent.
It nevertheless questioned why the FBI and DEA would not simply confirm that no current investigation or enforcement proceeding involving Tinubu exists.
The development comes amid renewed public debate over documents relating to allegations surrounding Tinubu’s past in the United States and whether US law-enforcement agencies still retain active investigative records connected to the matter.
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