Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday dismissed the Presidency's insistence that President Bola Tinubu's alleged narcotics case in the United States was permanently settled over three decades ago, arguing that the matter could still be revisited by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Reacting to comments by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Atiku's media office accused the Presidency of attempting to "rewrite history" over Tinubu's alleged links to a US narcotics investigation and the forfeiture of $460,000 in a civil proceeding in 1993.
The former vice president described the Presidency's defence of Tinubu as "reckless and shameful," insisting that no amount of political rhetoric could erase official records relating to the case.
"Our attention has been drawn to a reckless and shameful press statement signed on behalf of President Bola Tinubu by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga. The statement attempts to bury the records of the narcotics trafficking case against Bola Tinubu in the US under an unwieldy and hollow essay," the statement read.
Atiku argued that by claiming the issue had been overtaken by Tinubu's election victories, the Presidency had effectively acknowledged that the President was once investigated in connection with narcotics trafficking.
According to him, occupying the office of President does not invalidate questions surrounding past allegations or prevent law enforcement authorities from reopening investigations where necessary.
"The Presidency's media team should be reminded that issues of criminal justice are never completely thrown out. They can be revisited at any material time, 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," Atiku said.
He also questioned why the Tinubu administration had continued to oppose attempts to obtain records relating to the case from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Justice if, as claimed, the matter had been conclusively resolved.
"We challenge Bayo Onanuga and the Tinubu media team: 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 files?" the statement added.
Atiku maintained that reopening the matter would serve the interest of justice rather than diminish Nigeria's image, urging Tinubu to cooperate with any future review instead of resisting the release of documents relating to the case.
His comments came in response to a strongly worded statement issued earlier on Thursday by the Presidency, which criticised the former vice president for allegedly lobbying the United States government over Tinubu's past.
In the statement titled, "When will Atiku Abubakar report himself to President Trump?", presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga accused Atiku of abandoning the principles of statesmanship by petitioning foreign authorities against Nigeria's President.
According to Onanuga, the petitions submitted by Atiku's lobbyists to President Trump and the US State Department centred on a civil forfeiture case dating back to 1993, which he insisted had long been resolved without any criminal conviction against Tinubu.
"The matter 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 President Bola Tinubu by the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large," Onanuga said.
He further argued that reporting Nigeria's President to another country's government undermined the nation's sovereignty and dignity.
The presidential spokesman also sought to turn attention to Atiku's own record, alleging that the former vice president was implicated in the William Jefferson bribery scandal and was mentioned in a 2010 US Senate report on foreign corruption.
He further accused Atiku of supervising a controversial privatisation programme during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, alleging that public assets were sold to associates at undervalued prices.
The latest exchange marks another chapter in the long-running political rivalry between Tinubu and Atiku, coming amid renewed scrutiny of the President's US records ahead of the 2027 general election.
The controversy has been kept alive by legal efforts in the United States to secure the release of investigative documents relating to Tinubu from the FBI and other American law enforcement agencies. Although the FBI had indicated its readiness to release the records in batches, the process has remained stalled following legal objections filed by the Nigerian President.
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