Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has mocked the Presidency over its response to renewed discussions about President Bola Tinubu’s alleged links to a decades-old narcotics case in the United States, with the administration accused of trying to stifle scrutiny of the matter.
Atiku, in a statement on Thursday, described a recent statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on behalf of Tinubu, as “reckless and shameful”.
Atiku said the Presidency’s claim that the narcotics trafficking case against the President had “long been settled” was an admission that Tinubu was investigated in relation to narcotics trafficking.
The statement said: “We are shocked that the Presidency would say that the charges of narcotics trafficking against Tinubu have ‘long been settled’ and rendered moot by an electoral mandate.
He reportedly cautioned that immunity doesn’t prevent a new probe.
“The argument essentially concedes that Tinubu was investigated for narcotics trafficking but argues that his present position as President immunises him, and clears the records of his links to the heroin scandal,” Atiku said in the statement from his media office.
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The ADC 2027 presidential candidate also questioned the Presidency’s opposition to the renewed public interest in the case.
“As the Yoruba saying goes: an aged bowl of pounded yam can still steam,” Atiku said, citing a Yoruba proverb.
He dared Onanuga and the President’s media team to explain what he described as moves to shield further scrutiny of Tinubu’s records in the United States.
“If the case against their principal is really time-barred, why are they so panicky about any attempt to revisit it? “Why is President Tinubu blocking every attempt to reveal what is in his FBI/DOJ US files?” he asked.
Atiku said the Office of the President needed the highest level of integrity and that allegations against its occupant could damage Nigeria’s international reputation.
“The Office of the President is not just a political job. It is an office that reflects the soul of the society it governs. “The presence of an alleged ex-trafficker in that office is a huge reputational blow to Nigeria’s image and to all Nigerians on the world stage,” he said.
The ex-VP also said that criminal investigations could be reopened if there were new circumstances that justified such action.
“The media team of the Presidency has to be reminded that criminal justice issues are not thrown out completely. “They can be revisited at any material time especially when new circumstances arise” he said.
Atiku said there had been a change of leadership in the United States between 2023 and 2027, adding that it was the duty of law enforcement agencies to determine whether the issue should be revisited.
“Going back on the narcotics case of a serving president is not an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians,” he said. Instead, it is a bold attempt to keep the wheels of justice turning. “
If he had nothing to hide, he urged Tinubu to cooperate with any fresh review of the matter.
“If President Tinubu has no skeletons in his closet on his involvement in the US narcotics scandal, he should allow the case to be re-opened rather than resorting to his usual tactics of thwarting disclosure through frivolous appeals in court or assigning his media team the task of writing long, empty essays aimed at rewriting history for his personal benefit,” Atiku said.
