A US-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has denied claims that President Bola Tinubu risks arrest if he travels to New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), while warning that he could still face public embarrassment during the trip.
The firm made the claims in a statement posted on its verified 𝕏 account on Saturday, amid growing speculation over Tinubu’s expected attendance at the UN gathering.
“There is no plan to arrest Nigerian President Bola Tinubu over his alleged involvement in heroin smuggling if he attends the UN General Assembly this month. Any claim to the contrary is untrue,” the firm said. “What is true is that President Tinubu will be embarrassed in New York.”
Von Batten-Montague-York also dismissed the possibility of a meeting between Tinubu and US President Donald Trump, insisting that neither a White House sit-down nor a sideline meeting at the UNGA was in the works. It argued that its earlier allegations against Tinubu made such a meeting inappropriate.
The firm repeated its long-standing claims linking Tinubu to heroin trafficking in the US decades ago, alleging that the FBI has said Tinubu was part of a criminal network that smuggled heroin from Nigeria into the US during the 1980s and 1990s.
Tinubu’s past dealings in the US have drawn scrutiny before, most notably a 1993 civil forfeiture case in which he forfeited $460,000 to US authorities.
Von Batten-Montague-York said it would keep pushing its allegations to officials in Washington, adding: “We will continue to ensure that the White House and Congress fully understand that Nigerian President Tinubu is an alleged heroin trafficker and a liability to President Trump and the United States.”
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