According to an article written by SaharaRoperters, the certified US court judgment documents surfaced and have been making the rounds on the internet since Tuesday, showing that a US District Court indicted the former Lagos State governor for drug dealings and money laundering.
The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has responded to the certified judgment documents issued by the Chicago court, in the United States, where he was charged with involvement in drugs and money laundering in 1993.
Certified US court sentencing documents surfaced and have been circulating on the internet since Tuesday, showing that a US district court indicted the former Lagos state governor for drug trafficking and money laundering.
Certified court documents indicated that Tinubu was one of the drug lords who entered into a plea bargain in which he voluntarily agreed to confiscate his assets to US authorities in 1993 rather than go to trial.
Responding to the circulation of the documents, APC’s presidential campaign spokesman, Byo Onanuga, described the documents in circulation on Wednesday as a “campaign of slander” and said they were “returned to be back in business.”
Onanuga wrote on his Facebook page: “The Muckrakers are back in business. “The merchants of Tinubu returned to their usual campaign of notoriety on Tuesday, this time waking up the body of a drug-accused in America who was buried in 1993.
“Long after the campaign failed in 2003, it continued several weeks into the All Progressives Congress primaries. Opponents thought it was fatal enough to make APC disqualify Tinubu from the race.”
“It failed spectacularly and Tinubu won the primary with a landslide victory. The makers of the crackers are back again with the same story, dressed as a US court “notarized replica.”
“The campaign’s media and publicity director, Bayo Onanuga, had read the new document and dismissed it as the same old story. It died like a dodo,”
Onanuga told a news media on Tuesday, referencing a section in the campaign’s FAQ handbook. “One of the unconscionable and wicked lies peddled by political opponents about Bola Ahmed Tinubu was to paint him erroneously as a drug baron.”
“The allegation stemmed from an investigation by FBI Agent Kevin Moss of Tinubu and Compass Investment and Finance accounts at First Heritage Bank and Citi-Bank in the US. On January 10, 1992, Mr. Kevin Moss requested and obtained a court order to freeze the accounts.“
“On January 13, 1992, Mr. Moss called Tinubu in Nigeria to justify the $1.4 million in accounts. Part of the money is said to have been deposited by two Nigerians who are being investigated for drug offences.”
“After the telephone conversation, Tinubu instructed his lawyer in the US to file a case against the order to freeze his accounts. “This continued until September 15, 1993, when an agreement was reached for an out-of-court settlement. Judge John A Nordberg of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois read the agreement reached by the two parties. Part of the funds, $460,000, was seized by the government.”
“The FBI never accused Tinubu of any drug offence; the case did not proceed to trial. Tinubu has never been convicted. And he was never denied entry into the United States. In 2003, ten years later, when opponents of the HDP wanted to use closed prosecution to disqualify Tinubu from running for a second term in Lagos, Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun launched an investigation with the US Consulate into the Tinubu’s situation. “The Consulate has given Tinubu a clean bill in response to the Legal Attaché, Michael H. Bonner. “The letter reads: “We congratulate you and all law enforcement officers in the Nigerian Police Force.
Those who have received continuous assistance are greatly appreciated. Regarding your letter, dated February 3, 2003, reference number SR. 3000/IGPSEC/ABJ/VOL。 24/287, regarding Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a records check of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Crime Information Centre (NCIC) was conducted.
“The results of the checks were negative for any criminal arrest record, wanted or warrant for Bola Ahmad Tinubu (DOB 29 March 1952). For information on your administration, the NCIC is a highly centralized information center that keeps records of every arrest and criminal conviction within the United States and its territories,”
“Nearly thirty years after the charge was dropped and the case declared dead, Tinubu’s opponents continue to awaken his corpse in futile attempts to vilify him.”
