The camp of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has lambasted the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, for trying to present the $460,000 forfeiture case as one relating to tax evasion and not drug charges.
This online medium had reported how court papers from the US linked Tinubu to a drug trafficking case and his eventual forfeiture of the sum of $460,000 to the US government.
On February 18, 2009, the newspaper obtained original copies of the judgment in the case of United States versus Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in which the President-Elect was charged (along with other defendants) in a case of massive drug trafficking and money laundering.
This judgment directly relates to (and further documents) the SaharaReporters report of September 16, 2008 – How US Federal Agents successfully Linked Tinubu to Drug Trafficking Ring in Chicago.
The United States of America, by its attorney, Michael J. Shepard, United States Attorney for Northern District of Illinois, for its verified complaint of forfeiture, stated that “Beginning as early as 1998, Adegboyega Mueez Akande, with others operated an organisation which distributed white heroin, a controlled substance under Title 21 of the United States Code.
“This distribution operation was conducted on a large scale and the proceeds of the operation substantial.”
The judgment was that the court ordered: “that the funds in the amount of $460,000 in account in the name of Bola Tinubu represents proceeds of narcotics or were involved in financial transactions in violation of 18 U.S.C ss 1956 and 1957 and therefore these funds are forfeited to the United States.”
After protracted litigation in which Bola Tinubu claimed that the monies legitimately belonged to him, his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, and his surrogate mother, one Alhaja Mogaji, Bola Tinubu finally opted for a stipulated settlement with the US government.
According to the settlement order dated September 15, 1993; Hon. Judge John A. Nordberg ordered that the sum of $460,000 held by Bola Tinubu in the First Heritage Bank account be forfeited to the United States Government.
In a statement on Thursday, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Waziri Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu alleged that after the lies told by Tinubu and his surrogates, the truth had finally been unravelled through the processes filed by the All Progressives Congress at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.
He said, “Festus Keyamo had gone on national television to say that Tinubu’s forfeiture of $460,000 was based on tax obligations. At least they have now finally admitted that the forfeiture was in relation to a drug trafficking case even though Tinubu did not admit guilt.
“But what has been established is that Justice John Nordberg ordered on October 4, 1993 that the funds in the amount of $460,000 held in First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu represent the proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions in violation of 18 U.S. 1956 and 1957.
“Tinubu should know that he cannot outrun his past. He was investigated in relation to heroin trafficking. He had millions of dollars in his account while on a salary of $2,500 monthly, and he forfeited part of it in order to escape jail. These are the facts. Elections are over, and he should stop lying to Nigerians.”
He asked Tinubu to explain to Nigerians how he was able to deposit millions of dollars one year after opening bank accounts while earning a salary of $2,500 at Mobil.
Shaibu added that a Tinubu presidency would represent a setback in the fight against narcotics, given his antecedents and his open admission that he lived with known drug kingpins.
He implored the US authorities to set aside diplomatic protocols and furnish the Nigerian judiciary with all information relating to the trial and verdict of the US investigation of Tinubu over drug dealings and his forfeiture of the sum of 460,000 US dollars during his conviction.
“The US should not associate with electoral thieves by merely stating whether he is still under probe or not. We need in-depth details of this corn-man,” Shaibu said.
