Von Batten-Montague-York, a US-based political consultancy and lobbying firm, claims to have informed the US Department of Justice (DOJ) about a $3 million offer to halt the Tinubu drug probe involving alleged drug trafficking linked to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
In a post on its verified X handle on Thursday, Von Batten-Montague-York made the claim, alleging that the offer was intended to stop its efforts concerning the Tinubu drug probe and related US records.
Recall that the firm had earlier said that Dr. Von Batten, its leader, rejected the offers and retained copies of the conversations.
“Out of an abundance of caution and to protect our reputation, we reported the incident to the Department of Justice and provided screenshots of the communications we received.
“Given the amount of money discussed, the proposed confidential meeting in London, and the request to communicate through disappearing messages, we believed the responsible course was to preserve the evidence and bring the matter to the attention of the appropriate US authorities.
“We will now allow DOJ to determine whether the communications warrant any further review,” Von Batten-Montague-York said in an X tweet.
Backstory…
The renewed controversy over the Tinubu drug probe can be traced to a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case in the United States involving records from investigations dating back to the early 1990s.
In 2026, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar hired Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. under a reported 12-month, $1.2 million contract.
The US firm subsequently began pursuing and publicising US government records relating to the long-running allegations surrounding President Bola Tinubu.
The battle over the records began when American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan filed FOIA requests seeking documents from US agencies, including the FBI and DEA. The requests included Tinubu’s FBI file and FBI interview records from 1992 and 1993.
However, the case has since become a legal battle over whether the agencies could withhold the records.
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