CityNews reports that the former Lagos State governor had come under public criticism over his alleged role in an early 1990s drug trafficking case in Chicago.
The APC presidential candidate has refused to confirm, deny or comment on these cases, stoking claims that they may be true.
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However, Bola Tinubu has spoken extensively about his background in corporate accounting, consultancy and pro-democracy activism.
According to Peoples Gazette, the 56-page document released by the district court’s headquarters in Chicago did not include crucial new details, but it further confirmed snippets of the matter that had been shared spontaneously by the media and journalists.
The latest certified copies released by the US court, obtained on August 10, claimed that Tinubu and two others named K.O. Tinubu and Alhaji Mogati were involved in banking proceeds of illicit drugs and money laundering with Heritage Bank and Citibank.
It was not immediately clear whether or not ‘Alhaji Mogati’ was a misspelling of Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, Tinubu’s late foster mother.
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The U.S. government had in July 1993 sought forfeiture of proceeds of narcotics Bola Tinubu was accused of laundering. The matter was resolved in a compromise between the Tinubus and the U.S. authorities, with the Tinubus being asked to keep the money in the Heritage Bank account while the $460,000 in the Citibank account was forfeited.
A federal judge subsequently dismissed the matter with prejudice on September 21, 1993, which effectively foreclosed the matter from being litigated again by all parties. It, however, remained unclear whether or not Nigerian authorities could still bring charges against Tinubu over the same case in Nigerian courts.