A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm with ties to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says its founder was offered $3 million and invited to a secret meeting in London to stop the firm’s campaign alleging wrongdoing by President Bola Tinubu.
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Von Batten-Montague-York said in a statement posted Wednesday on X that Dr. Karl Von Batten received the unsolicited offer “a few days ago” from a “highly placed individual” the firm was told has connections to President Tinubu. The firm said the payment and meeting were intended to persuade Von Batten to end the organization’s public campaign tied to allegations that President Tinubu has links to heroin trafficking.
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The firm said Von Batten refused the proposal and preserved copies of the communications with the alleged intermediary. It also said Von Batten reached out to members of Atiku Abubakar’s campaign to verify the intermediary’s purported relationship with the president. According to the statement, a smear campaign targeting Von Batten began shortly after he rejected the offer.
Von Batten-Montague-York said it will forward the alleged $3 million offer and related communications to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for review. The firm did not provide the intermediary’s name in its public statement, and said only that the person described themselves as “highly placed.”
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The allegation prompted an immediate response from Nigeria’s Presidency, which questioned the firm’s credibility and accused it of presenting political claims as intelligence. The Presidency’s statement argued that the firm’s account lacked verification and suggested the claims were politically motivated rather than factual.
Analysts say the dispute highlights the transnational nature of modern political campaigns and the ways private firms, diaspora actors and foreign-based advisers can become entangled in domestic political fights. Von Batten-Montague-York has positioned itself as an adviser and lobbying group linked to Atiku’s network; its public campaign alleging ties between Tinubu and drug trafficking has been a point of contention and has drawn sharp denials from the president’s supporters.
Legal and ethics experts note that if the firm can substantiate its claim that an offer was made to suppress investigative or political activity, it could raise questions about attempted bribery or other criminal conduct under U.S. law. However, they say proving such an allegation would require corroborating evidence, including the identity of the intermediary and documentation of the offer.
The Presidency’s rejection of the firm’s account leaves the matter unresolved publicly, while Von Batten-Montague-York’s pledge to involve U.S. law enforcement may prompt an inquiry into whether any federal statutes were violated. For now, the row adds another layer of controversy to an already heated political environment in Nigeria as opponents trade accusations and counterclaims ahead of future elections.
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