Von Batten-Montague-York, LC, the United States firm, engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the Presidency’s clarification on the ongoing FOIA case in Washington DC, saying it has opened a door for the firm to officially step in.
In a statement on Thursday, the Presidency said the FOIA case in Washington DC is a civil matter, insisting that President Bola Tinubu was not facing criminal trial.
However, reacting to the Presidency’s statement, Von Batten-Montague-York,LC said it was “an attempt to mislead the world.”
The firm’s reaction posted on X read, “There is a saying: When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. The Nigerian Presidency’s (@officialABAT) attempt to mislead the world has opened the door for us to step in officially.
“We are preparing to seek leave from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (@uscourts) to file an amicus curiae brief concerning President Bola #Tinubu’s asserted privacy interests.
“Pursuant to D.D.C. Local Civil Rule 7(o)(2), today we notified Plaintiff Aaron Greenspan, @TheJusticeDept, and President #Tinubu’s counsel. We are awaiting their responses before filing.
“Our argument is straightforward: the #Nigerian Statehouse Statement blunder does not automatically eliminate President #Tinubu’s privacy protections, but when his own Presidency voluntarily places the records, litigation, and privacy claim into the international public debate through an official government statement, we believe it destroys the weight of his asserted privacy interest under Exemption 7(C).
“Nigerian President #Tinubu cannot ask a federal court to protect his alleged #heroin trafficking records on privacy grounds while simultaneously using the power of the #Nigerian Presidency to “publicly” discuss those same records and state “obvious untruths” about what the official @FBI, @DEAHQ, and court records actually say.
“You cannot claim privacy before the Court and then blatantly misrepresent the records to the public. That might work in Nigeria; it does not work in the United States,” Von Batten-Montague-York, LC said.
Leave a Reply