TD WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — A U.S.-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has dismissed speculation that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could be arrested in New York over allegations surrounding his past in the United States.
Von Batten-Montague-York, however, warned that the Nigerian leader could face significant public embarrassment if he attends the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Von Batten-Montague-York, a Washington-based firm that has been campaigning for greater scrutiny of allegations concerning Tinubu’s past, said there was “no plan” to arrest the Nigerian president if he attends the September 2026 UN General Assembly.
“There is no plan to arrest Nigerian President Bola Tinubu over his alleged involvement in heroin smuggling if he attends the UN General Assembly this month.
“Any claim to the contrary is untrue,” the firm said in a statement published on its verified X account.
“What is true is that President Tinubu will be embarrassed in New York,” it added.
The firm also claimed that a meeting Tinubu has reportedly sought with U.S. President Donald Trump would not take place, either at the White House or on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The statement represents the lobbying firm’s position, rather than an announcement by the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice or any U.S. law-enforcement agency.
Current reporting confirms that the firm has publicly opposed a Trump-Tinubu engagement over the allegations.
Firm renews heroin-trafficking allegations
Von Batten-Montague-York further alleged that the FBI has linked Tinubu to a criminal organisation involved in smuggling heroin from Nigeria into the United States during the 1980s and 1990s.
“The FBI claims that Tinubu was part of a criminal organization that smuggled heroin from Nigeria into the United States during the 1980s and 1990s,” the firm stated.
The firm described Tinubu as an “alleged heroin trafficker” and said it would continue providing information to the White House and Congress.
This, it said, is part of its effort to portray the Nigerian president as a liability to the Trump administration.
Those statements concern allegations and investigative records, not a criminal conviction against Tinubu.
What the 1993 U.S. case established
The allegations have their roots in a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
In United States of America v. Funds in Account No. 263226700 et al., No. 93 C 4483, the U.S. government pursued funds held in accounts associated with Bola Tinubu and others.
The case was a civil forfeiture proceeding against property, rather than a criminal prosecution of Tinubu.
A September 1993 settlement was followed by a decree dated October 4, 1993.
The decree ordered the forfeiture of $460,000 held in First Heritage Bank account 263226700 in Bola Tinubu’s name.
The court decree stated that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions violating specified federal statutes.
The court ordered the money forfeited to the United States.
The distinction is legally significant: Tinubu was not criminally convicted in that civil forfeiture proceeding.
FBI records and the renewed controversy
The issue has resurfaced through litigation brought by transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who sought FBI and other U.S. government records concerning Tinubu.
In Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., a federal court addressed FOIA requests seeking records relating to Tinubu, including FBI Form 302 interviews from FBI Case No. 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU covering the 1992–1993 period.
The FBI had previously declined to confirm or deny the existence of certain records under FOIA privacy exemptions.
More recently, U.S. litigation has again focused attention on the government’s records concerning the investigation.
Reporting on the proceedings said the court found the agencies’ reliance on so-called “Glomar” responses problematic in the circumstances before it.
The existence of an FBI investigation or investigative file, however, should not be conflated with a finding of criminal guilt.
Lobbying campaign targets Washington
Von Batten-Montague-York has made the Tinubu allegations a central part of its engagement with Washington policymakers.
The firm’s website says it is bringing the 1993 forfeiture records, FOIA litigation and other public documents concerning the allegations to the attention of members of Congress and the Trump administration.
It says its objective is to ensure that U.S. officials consider the allegations when dealing with Tinubu.
The firm’s campaign has gained renewed attention as the 81st United Nations General Assembly approaches in New York.
For now, however, the firm itself has made clear that an arrest of Tinubu at the UN General Assembly is not planned.
It contradicts speculation that the Nigerian president could be detained upon entering the United States.
Instead, its warning is political: it says Tinubu should expect an embarrassing reception in New York and claims his efforts to secure a meeting with President Trump will fail.
No criminal conviction established by the 1993 case
The historical record requires an important qualification.
The $460,000 forfeiture is documented in the 1993 federal court decree. But the proceeding was a civil forfeiture action involving property, not a criminal trial resulting in a conviction of Tinubu for heroin trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has disputed interpretations of the case that portray the forfeiture as proof of a criminal conviction.
Consequently, descriptions of Tinubu as a “heroin trafficker” remain allegations made by his political opponents and the lobbying firm, rather than a criminal conviction established by the 1993 proceeding.
The controversy nevertheless remains politically significant because the forfeiture record, the subsequent FOIA litigation and renewed U.S. scrutiny have placed Tinubu’s historical dealings in the United States back at the centre of attention ahead of the UN General Assembly.
