APC Presidential Candidate Tinubu Reacts to US Court Documents on Indictment

Documents certifying a US court's verdict against the ex-governor of Lagos State for drug deals and money laundering have been circulating online since Tuesday.

Following the release of the certified judgment records from the Chicago, US court where Bola Tinubu was indicted for drug deals and money laundering in 1993, the presidential candidate of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, responded.
Since Tuesday, certified US court judgment documents revealing that a US District Court indicted the former governor of Lagos State for drug transactions and money laundering have been circulating online.
Official records showed that in 1993, Tinubu accepted a plea bargain with American authorities in which he promised to voluntarily lose his assets.

The spokesman for the APC presidential campaign, Bayo Onanuga, responded to the leaks by calling them a "campaign of calumny" and declaring that "The Muckrakers are back in business" on Wednesday.
Onanuga announced the return of the muckrakers on his Facebook page.
On Tuesday, the Tinubu smearers were back at it, resurrecting a drug accusation from the United States that had been dormant since 1993.
Weeks before the All Progressives Congress primary election, the campaign's failure in 2003 resurfaced as a talking point. Critics claimed it was fatal enough for the APC to boot Tinubu from the contest.

It bombed so spectacularly that Tinubu breezed through the primary election. The muckrakers have returned, this time posing as reporters for a U.S. court and presenting the same old narrative.
"After reading the new paper, the campaign's media and publicity director, Bayo Onanuga, brushed it off as the same old story. Onanuga told a news outlet on Tuesday that the campaign was "as dead as a dodo," citing a part of the campaign's frequently asked questions manual.
As one example, the author writes, "one of the immoral and wicked lies propagated by political opponents about Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to characterize him erroneously as a drug baron."
Tinubu and Compass Investment and Finance were accused after FBI agent Kevin Moss looked into their accounts at First Heritage Bank and Citi-Bank in the United States.
As stated in the court decision, "Mr. Kevin Moss requested and secured a freeze of the accounts on January 10, 1992."
Mr. Moss called Tinubu in Nigeria on January 13, 1992, to explain the $1.4 million in unauthorized charges. Two Nigerians who are currently under investigation for narcotics crimes are believed to have deposited a portion of the money. After their phone call, Tinubu told his attorney in the United States to challenge the court's decision to freeze his assets in court. The parties finally settled the matter out of court on September 15, 1993. The settlement was announced by U.S. District Judge John A. Nordberg for the Northern District of Illinois. The government kept $460,000 of the money. The FBI never brought narcotics charges against Tinubu, therefore the matter never went to trial. A verdict of guilt against Tinubu was never reached. And the United States government never denied him entry. Ten years later, in 2003, Tinubu's PDP opponents attempted to exploit the closed claim to prevent him from standing for reelection as mayor of Lagos. In response, Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun enquired with the American Consulate about Tinubu's eligibility. In a letter of response, Michael H. Bonner, the Consulate's Legal Attache, granted Tinubu a passing grade. "Our sincere wishes to you and all of the law enforcement personnel in the Nigeria Police Force, whose ongoing help is very much appreciated," the letter began. We ran a check in the FBI's National Crime Information Centre (NCIC) in response to your letter about Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, dated February 3, 2003, with the reference number SR. 3000/IGPSEC/ABJ/VOL. 24/287.
No information about Bola Ahmed Tinubu's criminal history, including arrest records, wanted status, or outstanding warrants, was found in the background checks (DOB 29 March 1952). NCIC is a highly centralized data warehouse that stores the records of every criminal arrest and conviction that has ever occurred in the United States or any of its territories, for the benefit of your organization.
Nearly thirty years after the allegation was dropped and the case was ruled closed, Tinubu's detractors keep resurrecting it in an attempt to tarnish his reputation.

Also Read: A court in the United States has released certified authentic copies of Bola Tinubu's case in Chicago


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