A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., has alleged that its founder, Dr Karl Von Batten, was offered three million US dollars and invited to a confidential meeting in London in an attempt to persuade him to end the firm’s campaign concerning historical records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu .
The firm made the allegation in a statement posted on its X account, saying the offer was made unsolicited “a few days ago” by an individual it described as highly placed and whom it had been informed was connected to President Tinubu .
According to the firm, Von Batten rejected the offer, preserved copies of the communications, and reported the matter to the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation .
The firm alleged that the proposed payment was intended to persuade its founder to end the campaign concerning what it described as President Tinubu’s alleged heroin-trafficking records .
“Thank you for the offer, but no thanks,” the firm stated in its message directed at Tinubu
The allegation has drawn political attention because Von Batten-Montague-York is also a paid lobbyist for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, one of Tinubu’s leading political opponents ahead of the 2027 election .
Publicly filed US Foreign Agents Registration Act documents show that the firm was retained by Atiku under a 12-month agreement valued at about $1.2 million, with a mandate that includes strengthening Atiku’s reputational standing in the United States and countering narratives promoted by the Nigerian government .
The firm has been actively circulating US Department of Justice records relating to the 1990s case and supporting efforts to obtain additional records through Freedom of Information Act litigation .
The allegation has drawn a strong response from the Presidency. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, dismissed Von Batten’s claims as political speculation rather than an official position of the US government .
“The self-bestowed appellation of ‘Senior Government Advisor’ is a linguistic sleight of hand,” Dare said, describing Von Batten as a commercial lobbyist rather than an official of the US government .
Dare challenged the firm to produce the alleged “highly classified intelligence report,” identify its unnamed sources, and provide documentary evidence to support its claims .
He also cited the $1.2 million, 12-month retainer agreement between Atiku and the lobbying firm, alleging that the arrangement was designed to counter Nigerian government narratives and deploy historical US legal records for political purposes ahead of the 2027 general election .
The controversy centres on a documented US civil forfeiture case from the early 1990s involving funds in bank accounts associated with Tinubu . Under a settlement dated September 15, 1993, and a subsequent court order issued on October 4, 1993, $460,000 was forfeited to the US government .
The case, however, was a civil forfeiture proceeding against property and was not a criminal prosecution of Tinubu. Tinubu was never charged or convicted in connection with the investigation and has consistently denied wrongdoing .
The alleged $3 million offer, the identity of the person who purportedly made it, and the claimed connection to Tinubu could not be independently verified . It is also not known whether the US Department of Justice has acknowledged receiving the material or opened an investigation.
The claims concerning alleged heroin-trafficking records are allegations made by the lobbying firm and have not been established as facts by a court or relevant authority
