Opposition figure Atiku Abubakar on Wednesday urged President Bola Tinubu to address historical US judicial records involving a $460,000 civil forfeiture rather than criticise a lobbyist hired by his campaign.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku responded to comments by Sunday Dare, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications. Dare had faulted Atiku’s engagement of the US firm Von Batten-Montague-York and warned against claims that its managing partner could influence the Trump administration or court cases.
Shaibu said the presidency was sidestepping the core issues raised by American court documents. “These are not documents written by Atiku Abubakar. They were not manufactured by Karl Von Batten. They form part of an American judicial record,” he said.
Atiku retained the firm in March for $1.2 million, according to a filing with the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. One stated aim was to counter Nigerian government lobbying narratives in Washington. The firm later reported sharing Department of Justice records on drug trafficking allegations linked to Tinubu with members of the Trump administration, Congress and congressional staff.
Shaibu noted that the engagement was publicly registered and could not be portrayed as covert. He called on Tinubu to explain why his name appears in historical US federal narcotics and money-laundering records and why a US District Court ordered the forfeiture of $460,000 from an account in his name.
While acknowledging that civil forfeiture does not constitute a criminal conviction, Shaibu argued the court record could not be dismissed through political attacks. He also accused the Tinubu administration of hypocrisy, alleging it had contracted the DCI Group for $750,000 a month — potentially reaching $9 million — and said both sides were entitled to hire lobbyists.
“President Tinubu, before counting Atiku’s $1.2 million, account for your own $9 million arrangement. And before attacking the messenger, answer the $460,000 question,” Shaibu said.
He added that public debate should instead focus on economic hardship facing Nigerians, including rising food and transport costs, electricity bills, insecurity and falling purchasing power.
