A report from Punch on September 1, 2026, revealed that the Presidency accused Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. of framing political assertions as intelligence reports, creating the illusion that these statements reflected the views of the U.S. government.
This assertion was made in a statement by Sunday Dare, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications. He noted that the issue revolved around historical U.S. records concerning Tinubu, including a civil forfeiture case from the 1990s where funds were returned to American authorities.
Dare mentioned that filings with the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act indicated that Atiku had entered into a contract valued at about $1.2 million with the lobbying firm for a duration of one year.
He claimed that the firm’s activities were part of Atiku’s campaign to leverage historical U.S. records about Tinubu as part of the political discourse leading into the 2027 presidential election.
The Presidency also dismissed the notion that the statements from Washington reflected the official stance of the U.S. government. Dare characterized the releases as political public relations rather than official intelligence.
He urged the lobbying firm and those making the allegations to provide the supposed classified intelligence report, disclose the unnamed sources referenced, and furnish documentary proof to back their claims.
Dare emphasized that there had been no public evidence showing the accusations were based on classified intelligence or involved Nigerian secrets or national resources.
Additionally, he distanced the U.S. government from the remarks made by Karl Von Batten, the firm’s founder, asserting that his opinions should not be viewed as representative of the views of Washington or President Donald Trump.
