A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm linked to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that its founder, Dr Karl Von Batten, was offered $3 million and invited to a confidential meeting in London in an attempt to persuade him to halt the firm’s campaign over allegations involving President Bola Tinubu.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, made the allegation in a statement published on its X account on Wednesday, saying the offer was made “a few days ago” by a highly placed individual whom it was told had links to President Tinubu.
The claim has prompted a fresh response from the Presidency, which questioned the credibility of the lobbying firm and accused it of presenting political assertions as intelligence reports.
According to Von Batten-Montague-York, the alleged payment was intended to persuade its founder to stop the campaign concerning what the firm described as allegations linked to Tinubu’s alleged heroin-trafficking records.
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.”
It said Von Batten turned down the offer and immediately kept copies of the communications exchanged with the alleged intermediary.
The firm added that its founder contacted members of Atiku Abubakar’s campaign to determine the nature of the alleged intermediary’s connection with the President.
It further claimed that a smear campaign against Von Batten commenced shortly after he rejected the offer.
The lobbying firm said it would forward details of the alleged $3 million offer and the related communications to the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for review.
It added that Von Batten “refused the offers, immediately preserved copies of the exchanges” and contacted members of Atiku’s campaign.
Dare: Von Batten’s claims are political speculation
Reacting to the controversy, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, dismissed the claims attributed to Von Batten, saying they represented the views of a commercial lobbyist rather than those of the United States government or President Donald Trump.
In a statement, Dare challenged those behind the allegations to produce the purported “highly classified intelligence report”, disclose their unnamed sources and provide documentary evidence to support their claims.
He said the reports contained no intelligence document, identified Western official or evidence of any exchange involving Nigeria’s secrets or resources.
According to him, “It is nothing more than political speculation packaged as classified information.”
Dare also rejected any impression that Von Batten was representing the US government, describing the claim that he was a “Senior Government Advisor” as misleading.
“The self-bestowed appellation of ‘Senior Government Advisor’ is a linguistic sleight of hand,” he said.
Dare said Von Batten was a commercial lobbyist and founder of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., and not an official of the US government.
Presidency cites $1.2m Atiku retainer
Dare also questioned the relationship between Atiku and the lobbying firm, referring to what he described as publicly verifiable filings submitted under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act, FARA.
According to Dare, the filings indicate that Atiku contracted Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. on a $1.2 million, 12-month retainer.
He alleged that the arrangement was designed to counter Nigerian government narratives and deploy historical US legal records for political leverage ahead of the 2027 general election.
Dare said the Nigerian connection could be seen in the names contained in the lobbying documents and accused the firm of producing public relations materials that were subsequently presented as the position of the US government.
He also questioned claims that Von Batten had access to President Trump or members of his administration or had the ability to influence ongoing US legal proceedings.
Firm says it will approach US authorities
Von Batten-Montague-York maintained that it had retained the communications relating to the alleged $3 million offer and would submit them to US authorities for examination.
The firm ended its statement with a message directed at Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and their associates.
“We have a simple message for President Bola Tinubu, the APC, and their associates: Thank you for the offer, but no thanks,” it said.
Claims remain unverified
The allegation that Von Batten was offered $3 million to end the campaign, as well as the claim that the alleged intermediary was connected to Tinubu, could not be independently verified as of the time of filing.
The claims concerning alleged heroin-trafficking records are also allegations made by the lobbying firm and have not been established as facts by a court or relevant authority.
Similarly, the Presidency’s assertions regarding the purpose and nature of Atiku’s engagement with the lobbying firm form part of the ongoing political dispute, although Dare said his claims were based on US FARA filings.