Atiku-linked US firm says it was offered $3m to stop anti-Tinubu campaign
A United States-based lobbying firm linked to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that its founder, Dr Karl Von Batten, was offered $3 million to halt a campaign involving allegations against President Bola Tinubu.
Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. made the allegation in a statement published on its X account on Wednesday, claiming that a highly placed individual it was told was connected to Tinubu made the offer “a few days ago”.
The firm alleged that the offer came with an invitation for Von Batten to attend a confidential meeting in London, which it said was intended to persuade him to end the campaign concerning allegations over Tinubu’s alleged heroin-trafficking records.
The lobbying firm said Von Batten rejected the offer and immediately preserved copies of the communications exchanged with the alleged intermediary.
It added that he subsequently contacted members of Atiku’s campaign to establish the nature of the person’s alleged relationship with the President.
It further alleged that a smear campaign against Von Batten began after he rejected the offer and said it would submit the communications and details of the alleged payment offer to the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for review.
The firm stated: “A few days ago, Dr Von Batten received unsolicited offers of $3 million, along with an invitation to a confidential meeting in London, from a highly placed individual whom we have been informed is connected to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.”
The allegation has drawn a strong response from the Presidency, with Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, dismissing Von Batten’s claims as political speculation rather than an official position 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 rejected any suggestion that Von Batten was acting on behalf of the US government or President Donald Trump.
“The self-bestowed appellation of ‘Senior Government Advisor’ is a linguistic sleight of hand,” Dare said, describing Von Batten as a commercial lobbyist and founder of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C.
The presidential aide also questioned the firm’s relationship with Atiku, citing filings under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act.
He said the filings showed that Atiku engaged Von Batten-Montague-York on a $1.2 million, 12-month retainer.
Dare alleged 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.
Von Batten-Montague-York maintained that it had preserved the communications relating to the alleged $3 million offer and would submit them to US authorities.
The firm ended its statement with a message to Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and their associates: “Thank you for the offer, but no thanks.”
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.
The allegations concerning Tinubu’s alleged past and the Presidency’s assertions about the lobbying firm’s activities also remain contested claims in an increasingly heated political dispute ahead of the 2027 election.
