The President of Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, Akin Malaolu, has said Nigeria’s elder statesmen and recognised voices of conscience cannot continue to turn away while critical doubts regarding the integrity and international reputation of the nation’s president remain unaddressed.
The Guardian writes that in the latest twist in the alleged drug case involving President Bola Tinubu, a US-based attorney, Dr Von Batten has accused senior Nigerian government officials of ramping up a campaign against him.
But additional charges by a United States-based political advisory group, Von Batten-Montague-York, about the president have been denied by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
In court documents, the FBI has confirmed that its records pertain to a criminal inquiry into drug-trafficking charges and that Tinubu was the focus of an investigation.
Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State under former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Nigerians are entitled to enquire if, whatever was known or investigated at the time, the federal government did all that was within its authority to adequately establish the facts.
“As reports swirl today about political alignments involving the former president in his alleged support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, Obasanjo’s silence on these disturbing developments begs the question of whether political considerations are being allowed to contend with principle.”
He also drew into the conflict Emeka Anyaoku, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), Prof. Wole Soyinka, former President Goodluck Jonathan and other eminent Nigerians who have often spoken out when they felt the country’s democracy, institutions or reputation were in danger.
He urged the senior statesmen to seek the truth about the U.S. investigations and for the records being fought over in American courts to be made public as much as legally possible.
Batten said the current offensive involves the president’s spokeswoman, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Sunday Dare and Keyamo.
He said the actions of the officials were part of a concerted effort to thwart his advocacy and legal efforts in the US, notably his push for the release of data related to Tinubu.
He said he is going to file supplemental evidence with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to outline recent developments in the case.
Tinubu cannot seek privacy protection for investigative information while his presidency, advisers and cabinet officials are publicly campaigning over the identical records whose disclosure is being disputed, he said.
“You can’t bring the machinery of your government into the court of public opinion and run into a U.S. federal court demanding privacy,” he added.
The advocacy also said it would report a broader pattern of conduct to the FBI for independent investigation of the rules that govern privacy in the country.
In response to a post by Von Batten-Montague-York on X, Keyamo described the situation as “Storm in a teacup; journey to nowhere”.
The phrase shows that Keyamo views the dispute as overstated and not likely to lead to any positive outcomes.
Keyamo’s curt answer seemed to downplay the importance of the allegations.
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