Von Batten-Montague-York says FBI court filing suggests recordings involving the Nigerian president are linked to a heroin-trafficking investigation

A United States-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has claimed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is in possession of wiretap recordings involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in connection with an alleged drug-trafficking investigation.

The firm made the claim in a statement posted Thursday on its verified X account while commenting on an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving records held by the FBI.

According to the firm, an FBI court filing asked that certain highly sensitive wiretap recordings responsive to requests involving Tinubu be withheld from public disclosure.

Von Batten-Montague-York said the FBI acknowledged in its filing that the records in question contain wiretap material gathered during an investigation into several individuals suspected of heroin-trafficking offences.

The firm interpreted the filing as suggesting that Tinubu appears in the recordings.

US Lobbying Firm Takes Tinubu Heroin Allegations to Congress 

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“In our plain-English reading of the document, the FBI has Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on tape connected to heroin-trafficking crimes,” the firm said.

It further claimed that the FBI relied on FOIA Exemption 3 and provisions of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510–2520, which govern the interception and disclosure of communications under federal wiretap laws, to prevent the release of information that could identify individuals targeted for interception or reveal information obtained through the recordings.

The lobbying firm said it hoped the court would reject the FBI's arguments and order the release of the disputed material.

“If Nigerian President Tinubu is on those wiretapes connected to heroin trafficking, the American people, the Donald Trump Administration, Congress, and the Nigerian people deserve to know what those tapes contain,” it said.

However, the claim that Tinubu is personally heard on recordings connected to heroin trafficking has not been independently established.

The allegation is based on Von Batten-Montague-York’s interpretation of the FBI's court filing and should not be treated as confirmation that the Nigerian president participated in or was implicated in heroin trafficking.

The development comes amid continued interest in US government records relating to Tinubu and allegations surrounding his past, with questions over the extent of records held by American law enforcement agencies remaining the subject of legal proceedings.