Wole Afolabi, a member of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team in the United States, says the Nigerian leader would have been indicted, arrested and prosecuted if US authorities had sufficient evidence linking him to drug trafficking.
Afolabi spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics while addressing the ongoing legal battle over the release of US government records relating to Tinubu and past investigations.
American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan is seeking the release of records held by the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
Tinubu’s legal team recently asked a US court to allow the FBI and DEA to maintain redactions and withhold certain records, citing privacy protections and other exemptions under US law.
Afolabi said the legal challenge was not an attempt to hide incriminating information but an exercise of rights available under US law.
He argued that the absence of a criminal indictment or prosecution showed that US authorities did not have sufficient evidence to pursue a criminal case against Tinubu.
The dispute is part of a long-running FOIA case involving records connected to investigations from the early 1990s, including a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000. Tinubu has denied any wrongdoing.
The case remains before a US District Court in Washington, DC.
