Presidential aide and legal practitioner, Daniel Bwala, on Sunday accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, of instigating renewed investigations into President Bola Tinubu’s alleged drug-related case in the United States.
In a post shared via his X handle, Bwala dismissed the circulating reports of a U.S. court order as “politically motivated nonsense” aimed at tarnishing Tinubu’s image.
While Presidential Spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, earlier described the claims as recycled and baseless, Bwala reinforced the administration’s stance, branding the allegations as “mischievous and politically mechanized nonsense under the guise of a U.S. court order.”
He denied the legitimacy of the purported directive from the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., which allegedly mandates the FBI and DEA to release documents tied to investigations involving Tinubu.
Bwala also referenced the recent visit by Atiku and El-Rufai to former President Muhammadu Buhari, implying it was part of a broader political plot. According to him, Buhari insisted the meeting be held in-camera to avoid misrepresentation by El-Rufai.
“They claim the order was given on Tuesday, yet it didn’t surface in the media until Sunday,” Bwala said. “This so-called coalition is nothing more than a wild goose chase. They are struggling to convince Nigerians they have a plan, much less an alternative.”
The controversy stems from reports that U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling delivered on April 8, ordered the FBI and DEA to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by releasing non-exempt related to President Tinubu. The ruling also allegedly directed the agencies to withdraw their “Glomar responses”—a standard tactic used to neither confirm nor deny the existence of records.
