Politics
By Anthony Isibor
A Washington-based lobbying firm representing former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Nigerian Presidency of threatening its managing partner, Dr Karl Von Batten, with kidnapping, physical harm and what it described as extrajudicial detention.
Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. made the allegation in a series of posts on X, saying a senior representative of the Nigerian Presidency communicated the alleged threat and that the firm had preserved screenshots of the messages.
The allegation has not been independently verified. The Presidency had not publicly responded to the specific accusation as of Tuesday.
The firm said it was withholding details of the alleged communication until it had briefed officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump, members of Congress and US federal law-enforcement agencies.
It later said it had begun briefing the US Department of State and had forwarded a report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for consideration as possible “transnational repression”.
The firm also said it was preparing a federal lawsuit against the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, over the alleged threats.
The latest escalation is the newest development in a months-long confrontation involving Von Batten, the Nigerian government and a US court battle over historical FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) records relating to President Bola Tinubu.
In its initial statement, the firm said the alleged threat came through “one of” the Nigerian Presidency’s senior representatives and described it as a “direct, verified threat” to Von Batten’s safety.
It said the threat involved the possibility of kidnapping and physical harm.
“Due to the threat to kidnap and harm Dr. Von Batten, we will not comment in detail about this threat from the Nigerian Presidency until we have informed members of the Trump administration, Congress, and federal law enforcement,” the firm said.
Von Batten subsequently issued a defiant response, saying he was not afraid of Tinubu or what he described as “kidnappers or assassins”, and that he remained protected by the United States.
The firm tagged senior US officials, including Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the White House, congressional committees and members of Congress, as well as the FBI and other US agencies, in its posts.
In its latest update, the firm said the alleged conduct was being documented as possible transnational repression — a term used in US government discussions for efforts by foreign governments to intimidate, threaten, harass or otherwise coerce people beyond their borders.
It said it intended to present the matter to US authorities and a federal court.
There is, however, no public indication so far that the FBI has opened an investigation into the alleged threat.
The accusation comes after a sustained campaign by Von Batten-Montague-York over US government records relating to Tinubu.
The firm has been publicising developments in a Freedom of Information Act dispute in the US District Court for the District of Columbia involving requests for FBI and DEA records.
The litigation was initiated by US transparency activist Aaron Greenspan. Tinubu subsequently became involved in the case, while the FBI and DEA have opposed disclosure of some of the records.
Von Batten has sought to participate in the proceedings and has repeatedly used his firm’s platforms to demand disclosure of the records.
The firm has characterised the records as relating to historical US investigations into allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu.
The Nigerian government and Tinubu’s representatives have disputed that characterisation.
A key point in the dispute is a 1993 US civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 held in an account associated with Tinubu. Court records show that the funds were forfeited to the US government under statutes covering proceeds of narcotics trafficking or funds involved in specified financial transactions.
The proceeding was a civil forfeiture case against property, not a criminal conviction of Tinubu. Reporting on the case has noted that Tinubu was not indicted or convicted of drug trafficking in that proceeding.
That distinction has become central to the competing narratives surrounding the current US records dispute.
The latest threat allegation also follows a public confrontation between Von Batten and Fani-Kayode.
Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister who is now Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, challenged the US firm to produce evidence supporting its claims that Tinubu was involved in heroin trafficking.
In a statement published on September 19, Fani-Kayode argued that the 1993 Department of Justice complaint concerned property and should not be presented as proof that Tinubu personally trafficked heroin.
He said an investigation and a civil forfeiture proceeding should not be equated with a criminal conviction or finding of personal criminal conduct.
The exchange followed an earlier series of public criticisms by senior Nigerian officials.
Presidential adviser Bayo Onanuga and Special Adviser Sunday Dare have also challenged the way Von Batten has presented the US records dispute. Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo later dismissed the firm’s campaign as a “storm in a teacup” and a “journey to nowhere”.
Von Batten has interpreted the repeated criticism by Nigerian officials as part of a coordinated attempt to interfere with his advocacy in the United States.
The latest complaint is not the first time Von Batten has approached US authorities over what he describes as pressure from Nigerian officials.
On September 5, the firm submitted an information referral to the FBI’s Washington Field Office concerning what it described as conduct by officials associated with the Nigerian government.
The referral did not assert that a federal crime had been established. Instead, Von Batten asked the FBI to independently assess whether the conduct could have implications involving foreign influence, harassment, interference, transnational repression or national security.
The firm also referred to alleged contacts between Nigerian officials and the White House concerning Von Batten’s reported appointment to a US presidential commission.
At the moment, there is no public evidence at this stage that the FBI has accepted the firm’s characterisation of the events or opened a formal investigation.
Atiku had retained Von Batten-Montague-York under a 12-month agreement worth $1.2 million, according to documents filed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The filing shows that the firm was engaged to provide government-affairs and strategic-advisory services, including congressional and executive-branch engagement, reputational management and efforts to counterbalance narratives advanced by the Nigerian government.
The firm’s work therefore takes place against the backdrop of the 2027 Nigerian presidential contest, in which Atiku is seeking to challenge Tinubu.
The relationship has been cited by Nigerian officials and commentators as evidence that Von Batten’s campaign against Tinubu is politically motivated.
Von Batten’s firm has not denied working for Atiku. It has instead maintained that its advocacy concerning the US records is based on what it considers matters of public interest and US national security.
The dispute intensified in September after Von Batten-Montague-York announced that Von Batten had been appointed by Trump to a White House presidential commission.
The firm subsequently deleted the announcement and later reposted it.
Von Batten said the deletion followed complaints by Nigerian officials to the White House. The firm alleged that Nigerian officials repeatedly contacted the US administration about the appointment.
Those claims have not been independently corroborated by the White House or the Nigerian government.
Earlier in September, the firm also alleged that an individual it linked to Tinubu offered $3 million and proposed a confidential meeting in London in an attempt to persuade Von Batten to stop his campaign concerning the US records.
The firm said it rejected the proposal and retained communications relating to the alleged approach.
It did not publicly identify the alleged intermediary or produce independently verifiable evidence establishing that the person was acting on Tinubu’s behalf.
The Presidency’s position on that specific allegation was not included in the firm’s statement.
The dispute has unfolded alongside controversy over Tinubu’s decision not to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Presidency announced that Vice-President Kashim Shettima would lead Nigeria’s delegation to the gathering, making it Tinubu’s third consecutive absence from the UN General Debate.
Von Batten-Montague-York had previously made claims concerning a possible Tinubu-Trump meeting at the UN and later said the proposed meeting was no longer going ahead.
Those claims have been part of a wider political argument over Tinubu’s relationship with the Trump administration, but statements by the lobbying firm about the reasons for the meeting’s reported status have not been independently established.
The latest allegation therefore sits at the intersection of three separate disputes: the US court battle over historical law-enforcement records, the political contest between Atiku and Tinubu ahead of 2027, and the increasingly personal confrontation between Von Batten and Nigerian officials.
What is established is that Atiku has a FARA-registered $1.2 million lobbying agreement with Von Batten-Montague-York; that the firm has publicly campaigned for greater disclosure of US records concerning Tinubu; that Nigerian officials have publicly challenged the firm’s claims; and that Von Batten says he has referred alleged pressure from Nigerian officials to US authorities.
What remains unverified is the central new allegation: that a senior representative of the Nigerian Presidency threatened to kidnap or physically harm Von Batten.
The firm says it has screenshots of the alleged communication and intends to place them before US authorities and, potentially, a federal court.
A.I
Sept. 22, 2026
Tags: Bayo Onanuga Dr Karl Von Batten Femi Fani-Kayode Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar Sunday Dare