General News
Drug Allegations: Tinubu’s Lawyer Breaks Silence
A member of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team in the United States, Wole Afolabi, has explained why the President has not been arrested over alleged drug trafficking allegations against him.
Afolabi, who spoke on Channels Television, said Tinubu would have been indicted, arrested and prosecuted if there was evidence linking him to drug trafficking in the United States.
The lawyer was responding to questions concerning the ongoing legal battle over the release of records held by the United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration.
The records are the subject of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, who is seeking access to documents relating to Tinubu and previous investigations.
According to Afolabi, the US government has already released thousands of pages of records but is seeking to keep some portions redacted.
He argued that releasing the redacted portions could compromise law enforcement methods, sources and personnel.
The senior lawyer further explained that Tinubu’s legal team’s decision to challenge the release of the redacted portions was based on rights provided under US law and did not amount to an attempt to conceal incriminating information.
“This matter has been going on for quite some time, as you rightly said, and the DEA and other government agencies have produced documents and made them available to Mr Greenspan.
“Now Mr Greenspan is asking that the documents be unredacted before they are handed over to him. The way the system works is this: it’s not what you want, it’s what the law stipulates.
“So precisely what we are doing is going under the coverage of the law. It’s what the law gives us the right to do. It would amount to professional malpractice on our part if we didn’t take advantage of what the law offers,” he said.