A member of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team in the United States, Wole Afolabi (SAN), has explained why US authorities have never arrested or prosecuted the Nigerian leader over long-standing allegations of involvement in drug trafficking.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Afolabi said that if sufficient evidence existed to support a criminal case, Tinubu would have been indicted.
“If he was culpable, he simply would have been indicted. There’s no shortcut around it,” he stated.He emphasised that being the subject of an investigation does not equate to guilt, noting that “anyone can be a subject of investigation” and that the presumption of innocence applies.
The comments come amid an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in a US District Court filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
The suit seeks FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) records related to investigations from the early 1990s, including files connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture of about $460,000 linked to accounts associated with Tinubu.
US authorities at the time alleged the funds were proceeds of narcotics trafficking or related money-laundering activity.
Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing.Afolabi clarified that the US government has already released some documents but is withholding portions under FOIA exemptions.
The FBI and DEA have cited risks to agents, confidential informants, sources, and investigative methods.
“They are saying that if we discuss this publicly, we would compromise our agents; we would compromise the techniques that we use to get information,” he said.
“They have sources, they have informants. They don’t want them to be compromised.”He rejected suggestions that the legal team’s efforts to limit further disclosure amount to a cover-up, describing them as standard use of available legal protections.
“It will amount to professional malpractice on our part if we don’t take advantage of what the law offers.”
Afolabi declined to discuss specifics of the $460,000 forfeiture or any private explanations provided by Tinubu, citing attorney-client privilege.
Tinubu’s lawyers have intervened in the FOIA case, arguing that further release of unredacted records would violate privacy protections and that the allegations remain speculative.
No criminal charges, indictment, arrest, or conviction related to drug trafficking have ever been brought against Tinubu in the United States.
Nigerian courts, including during the 2023 presidential election petitions, have noted that the 1993 matter was a civil in rem forfeiture proceeding against the funds themselves, not a criminal conviction of the individual.
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