‘We Were Offered $3m To Drop Tinubu Records Campaign’ — US Firm

A US-based lobbying company has claimed that a person it was told was connected to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu offered its founder $3m and invited him to a confidential meeting in London in an alleged attempt to stop its campaign over records concerning Tinubu.

Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. made the claim in a post on X on Wednesday, saying its founder, Dr Karl Von Batten, received the unsolicited offer “a few days ago”.

According to the company, the offer came from a “highly placed individual” whom it was informed was connected to Tinubu.

It alleged that the proposed payment was intended to persuade Von Batten to end the campaign concerning what it described as Tinubu’s alleged heroin-trafficking records.

Von Batten rejected the offer and preserved copies of the communications, the company said. He then contacted members of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s campaign to establish the nature of the individual’s alleged relationship with Tinubu.

The company said a smear campaign against Von Batten began shortly after he rejected the offer.

“We will be providing the $3m offer and related communications to our friends at the DOJ and FBI,” it added, referring to the US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The company did not identify the person who allegedly made the offer and did not publicly release the communications or other evidence to substantiate its claim.

The allegation comes as Von Batten-Montague-York continues its campaign for the release of US government records relating to allegations concerning Tinubu.

The company has called for the disclosure of FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration records linked to historical US investigations involving the Nigerian president.

The records are the subject of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act case brought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan against US government agencies.

In the case, a federal judge previously rejected broad attempts by the FBI and DEA to use a “Glomar response” and ordered the agencies to search for and process responsive records subject to lawful exemptions.

The US government has subsequently submitted some material to the court under seal, while disputes over the release of additional records continue.

The historical allegations also relate to a 1993 US civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 linked to Tinubu.

The proceeding was civil in nature and did not result in a criminal conviction against him.

Von Batten-Montague-York has continued to describe the records as relating to alleged heroin trafficking and has urged US authorities to release them.

The company was retained by Atiku under a 12-month agreement worth $1.2m to provide strategic advisory and government relations services in the United States.