The spokesperson of Asiwaju Tinubu , Bayo Onanuga , has reacted to some documents circulating in the media . The documents said to have indicted the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, on drug dealings and money laundering in the United States have resurfaced with reports that they were released by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The trending documents revealed details about Tinubu’s alleged indictment in drug deals and receipt of illegal money while in the U.S.
The 56-page document released by the district court’s headquarters confirmed the long-held view that Tinubu faced conviction on narcotics charges in the US especially with the revelation that he forfeited up to $460,000 to the U.S. authorities in 1993, reports Peoples Gazette.
Tinubu has denied any wrongdoing and his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, blamed the media for “recycling the news even when it’s nothing new,” during an interview with THE WHISTLER on Tuesday evening.
Bayo said “it’s dead as dodo (roasted plantain) wondering why you journalists will continue to do the story.
“It resurfaced before the primary (presidential) and now again. It is nothing new. It’s dead. It’s as dead as a dodo,” he said.
However, the fresh allegation especially the release of the complete documents to the public may further put pressure on Tinubu, who was Lagos State Governor for eight years to come clean on his alleged narcotic dealings and indictment for money laundering.
Although he was never convicted as he did not re-enter the US, the certified copies of the court case, which were released on August 10, revealed Tinubu and two others simply named as K.O. Tinubu and Alhaji Mogati were involved in banking proceeds of illicit drugs and money laundering with Heritage Bank and Citibank, all in the US.
The personality of who Alhaji Mogati remains shrouded as no trace could easily be made to such a person close to Tinubu except that Tinubu’s foster mother was known as Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji. She died in 2013.
Tinubu who was resident in the US when these offences were committed returned to Nigeria and made his way into the upper political class in Nigeria to emerge as Lagos State Governor in 1999 to 2007. However, his refusal to return to the US when the court case was held reportedly led to huge forfeiture of $460,000 in the Citibank account in the US. The US authority never applied to Nigeria for his extradition, THE WHISTLER findings showed.
However, this paper gathered that since his accomplices in the US entered into a plea bargain to avoid a long drawn court case, the former Lagos West Senator also enjoyed that privilege as all assets and money were seized on September 21, 1993. An Abuja-based lawyer, Benson Agada, told THE WHISTLER that “Tinubu can still face charges in Nigeria and can still be disqualified if appropriate findings are made and the case is made in court by the Nigerian government but that’s difficult because it will be impossible politically.
“His party will be shooting itself in the leg to embark on such a venture except if the president is against him” But the evidence is clear that someone who was indicted like this, to have forfeited such a huge amount of money can stand trial”
“If he had remained in the US, he would have been convicted. And plea bargain is an evidence of guilt, an acceptance that you are guilty,” he said.
The APC campaign team further explained , it issued press release , : the unconscionable and wicked lies peddled by political opponents about Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to paint him erroneously as a drug baron.
The accusation arose out of an investigation by FBI agent Kevin Moss of Tinubu and Compass Investment and Finance accounts at First Heritage Bank and Citi- Bank in the U.S..
On January 10, 1992, Mr Kevin Moss requested and obtained a court order to freeze the accounts.
On January 13, 1992, Mr Moss telephoned Tinubu in Nigeria to justify the amounts in the accounts, running into $1.4 million. Part of the money was said to have been deposited by two Nigerians, being investigated for drug offences.
After the telephone conversation, Tinubu instructed his lawyer in the US to file�a lawsuit against the order freezing his accounts.
This dragged on till 15 September 1993, when an agreement was reached for an out of court settlement. Judge John A Nordberg, of the US district court for the Northern District of Illinois, read out the agreement reached by the two parties. Part of the funds, $460,000 was seized by the government.
The FBI never charged Tinubu with any drug offence; the case did not go on trial. Tinubu was never convicted.
Tinubu was never barred from entering the United States. In 2003, ten years after, when the PDP opponents wanted to use the shuttered allegation to disqualify Tinubu from running for a second term in Lagos, the Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun made an enquiry with the American Consulate on Tinubu’s status.
The Consulate gave Tinubu a clean bill in a reply by the Legal Attache, Michael H. Bonner.
The letter reads:
“Our sincerest greetings to you and all of the law enforcement personnel in the Nigeria Police Force, whose continued assistance is very much appreciated.
In relation to your letter, dated February 3, 2003, reference number SR. 3000/IGPSEC/ABJ/VOL. 24/287, regarding Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a records check of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Crime Information Centre (NCIC) was conducted.
“The results of the checks were negative for any criminal arrest records, wants,�or warrants for Bola Ahmed Tinubu (DOB 29 March 1952).
For information of your department, NCIC is a very centralised information centre that maintains the records of every criminal arrest and conviction within the United States and its territories.”
Almost thirty years after the allegation was discharged and the case declared dead, Tinubu’s opponents keep waking up its corpse, in futile efforts to malign him .
The APC team has linked the sudden circulation of Tinubu’s past in the USA as political and unfounded .
