Video of Bola Tinubu interacting with suspected international cocaine trafficker Ousmane Diarra surfaces

Nigerian journalist, David Hudeyin has shared a video of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the company of suspected international cocaine trafficker and Malian political fixer, Ousmane Diarra aka Ousmane Yara.

In a series of tweet, Hudeyin raised concerns about the company Bola Tinubu keeps as he tries to unravel and confirm the newly elected president is linked with drug trafficking.

In a video which recently surfaced, Bola Tinubu was seen interacting with Ousmane Yara in an helicopter as they smiled for the camera before being airlifted to an unknown destination.

According to David Hudeyin, Ousmane Yara is a powerful aide and a close confidant of former Guinean president Alpha Condé who is said to be responsible for the Guinea Passport of Bola Tinubu.

In an earlier post, Hudeyin uploaded photos of a Guinea passport belonging to Bola Tinubu which led to the microblogging platform blocking his account for violating its policy around personal identifying information.

Explaining who Ousmane Yara is, the journalist noted that he was identified and tried for being part of a cross-border drug trafficking ring which attempted to smuggle cocaine from Bamako, Mali to Dakar, Senegal.

In his narration, Hudeyin alleged that Ousmane Yara was left off the hook after the evidence went missing despite being mentioned as one of the masterminds of the operation.

Read his tweet about the incident below;

"What exactly is the relationship between Nigeria's "president-elect"
@officialABAT and Ousmane Diarra aka Ousmane Yara (@yara_ousmane), a Malian political fixer and suspected international cocaine trafficker?

Since yesterday, this Twitter has been making the rounds on Nigerian Twitter.

Apparently leaked by an insider in Tinubu's camp, the video shows Tinubu, Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwoolu and another gentleman inside a Guinean presidential helicopter.

There are several things to pick out from that video, but for the purpose of this thread, I will focus on the identity of the gentleman in the middle.

Known as Ousmane Diarra or Ousmane Yara, he is a Malian citizen who is well-connected across West Africa.

He was apparently a powerful aide and a close confidant of former Guinean president Alpha Condé.

He was important enough to be dispatched by Condé in an official capacity to mediate in diplomatic disputes involving Senegal, Libya and Egypt.

According to Guinean sources, he is the man responsible for obtaining a Guinean diplomatic passport - something typically reserved for birth citizens with no other nationality, subject to enhanced security checks - for Bola Tinubu.

But there's a problem with his backstory.

This man who has apparently lived in Nigeria for several years, has also been identified and tried for being part of a cross-border drug trafficking ring which attempted to smuggle cocaine from Bamako, Mali to Dakar, Senegal.

During the trial, which took place in 2010, the court heard that the Bamako Customs Brigade Mobile d'Intervention (BMI) unit intercepted a group of 7 drug smugglers attempting to board Air-Mali Flight 273 with 30 KG of cocaine concealed in their hand luggage.

For reference, according to @UNODC figures, 30KG of cocaine in 2010 would have had an average European street value of $2,460,000.

After getting caught red-handed, the couriers promptly named Ousmane Yara as one of the masterminds of the operation.

While the case seemed airtight with the suspects immediately accepting their guilt and making confessional statements, the bags containing the 30KG of cocaine suddenly went missing in Customs custody, and the suspects soon recanted their confessions and denied involvement.

In the absence of this crucial physical evidence, the case unsurprisingly fell apart.

Ousmaye Yara, who was identified as the cocaine supplier by the suspects who met him inside a Toyota Prado at Bamako's Hotel Massaley, thus got let off the hook.

The question is this: Why does Bola Ahmed Tinubu - himself an indicted drug trafficker - always seem to surround himself with those who have been involved in drug trafficking and/or organised crime?

Is the question hard? Or obvious?"

Watch the video of Tinubu with Ousmane Diarra aka Ousmane yara