A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has alleged that an individual it believes is connected to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu offered $3 million in an attempt to persuade the firm to discontinue its campaign concerning allegations of heroin trafficking records involving the Nigerian leader.
The firm made the allegation in a post published on its verified X account on Wednesday, saying the reported offer was accompanied by an invitation for its leader, Dr Von Batten, to attend a confidential meeting in London.
According to the firm, Von Batten rejected the proposal and retained copies of the communications surrounding the alleged approach. It said the material would be provided to US law-enforcement authorities for review.
The lobbying firm further claimed that, following the refusal, a smear campaign targeting Dr Von Batten began. It said the development reinforced its decision to preserve the communications and formally bring the matter to the attention of the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Von Batten-Montague-York said it also contacted members of the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s campaign in an effort to establish the nature of the alleged individual’s relationship with Tinubu.
The firm described the alleged offer as an attempt to influence its ongoing activities concerning what it characterised as President Tinubu’s alleged heroin-trafficking records. It did not establish in its statement that the Nigerian president personally authorised or made the alleged offer.
“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 firm said.
It claimed that the approach was intended to persuade Dr Von Batten to end the campaign focused on the allegations involving Tinubu.
“We believe these offers were an attempt to persuade Dr Von Batten to end our campaign concerning President Tinubu’s alleged heroin-trafficking records,” the firm stated.
The organisation said it had rejected the reported proposal and would instead submit the relevant communications to US authorities.
Von Batten-Montague-York also directed a pointed message at Tinubu, the governing All Progressives Congress and individuals it said were associated with the alleged effort.
“We have a simple message for President Tinubu, Nigeria’s ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC, and their associates. Thank you for the offer, but no thanks,” the firm wrote.
The allegations remain claims made by the lobbying firm, and the statement did not provide publicly established evidence showing that Tinubu or the APC authorised the alleged $3 million approach.
The firm’s decision to refer the communications to the DOJ and FBI means, according to its account, that it wants US authorities to independently examine the alleged offer and determine the identities, relationships and intentions of those involved.
The development adds another dimension to the continuing controversy surrounding allegations that have been made about Tinubu and alleged drug-trafficking records. Von Batten-Montague-York has positioned itself as a participant in the campaign concerning those allegations and now says its activities have been followed by an alleged attempt to persuade it to withdraw.
The alleged invitation to a confidential meeting in London is also central to the firm’s account of the incident. It said the meeting was proposed alongside the $3 million offer, but did not disclose further details about when or where the meeting was supposed to take place.
The firm said Dr Von Batten instead preserved the exchanges rather than accepting the proposal. It subsequently sought information from members of Atiku Abubakar’s ADC campaign about the alleged connection between the person who made the approach and President Tinubu.
The firm has not publicly established the alleged individual’s identity or demonstrated the precise nature of the claimed relationship with the president in the statement announcing the allegations.
By saying it would submit the communications to US federal authorities, Von Batten-Montague-York indicated that it wants the alleged approach subjected to scrutiny outside its own organisation.
The firm said the move was also intended to protect Dr Von Batten’s reputation following what it described as a smear campaign that emerged after the alleged offers were rejected.
The allegations are likely to attract political attention because they involve the sitting Nigerian president and a US-based lobbying organisation, while also bringing the DOJ and FBI into the firm’s stated plans to report the matter.
For now, however, the central claims — including the alleged $3 million offer, the proposed London meeting and the purported connection between the individual who allegedly made the approach and Tinubu — remain allegations by Von Batten-Montague-York and have not been independently established in the information provided.
The firm maintains that its refusal to accept the reported offer was deliberate and that the preserved communications will allow the appropriate US authorities to assess what happened.
US Lobbying Firm Alleges $3m Offer to Drop Probe Into Tinubu
