Atiku Fires Back At Presidency, Says Alleged Drug Case Against Tinubu Timeless

By RhemDy News 

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has insisted that his petition submitted to US President Donald Trump and US State Department against President Bola Tinubu on alleged trafdicking of illegal drugs was not time barred.

Atiku stated this in reaction to the Presidency on his petition seeking to revisit the alleged narcotics case against  Tinubu in the United States.

Reacting to the petition through a statement on Thursday, presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, emphasised that the petitions submitted by Atiku's lobbying group regarding a civil forfeiture case from 1993 was long settled, with no criminal conviction or finding of guilt.

The Presidency maintained that the issue was resolved over 30 years ago in the United States and has been thoroughly litigated, explained, and rendered moot by the electoral mandates conferred on Tinubu by the people of Lagos and Nigeria.

However, responding to the statement, Atiku Media Officer said Onanuga's statement attempted "to bury the records of the narcotics trafficking case against Bola Tinubu in the US under an unwieldy and hollow essay.

"We are shocked that the Presidency would claim that the narcotics trafficking charges against Tinubu have “long been settled” and rendered moot by an electoral mandate. 

"This argument essentially admits that Tinubu indeed faced investigation on narcotics trafficking, but suggests that his current position as President grants him immunity, thereby wiping the records of his links to the heroin scandal clean."

The former vice president challenged the President's media team,  arguing that, "if the case against their principal is truly time-barred, why are they so panicky about any attempt to revisit it? Why is President Tinubu blocking every move to unravel what is in his FBI/DOJ US files?"

It maintained that the Office of the President is more than a mere political position but one "that mirrors the soul of the society it governs. Having an alleged ex-trafficker in that office inflicts serious reputational damage on Nigeria’s image and on every Nigerian on the global stage."

Atiku further claimed that the issues of criminal justice are never completely thrown out but can be revisited, especially when new circumstances arise.

"Between 2023 and 2027, there has been a change of leadership in the United States. It is the duty of law enforcement agencies to determine whether the case can be reopened in the interest of justice.

"Revisiting the narcotics case against a sitting president is not an affront to the intelligence of Nigerians. Rather, it is a bold attempt to ensure that the wheel of justice continues to turn.

"If President Tinubu has nothing to hide about his records in the US narcotics scandal, he should submit himself to the process of revisiting the case instead of resorting to his usual tactics — frustrating disclosures through frivolous court appeals or deploying his media team to issue long, hollow essays aimed at rewriting history for personal gain," Atiku said.