US Diplomacy Not Approval Of Drug Crimes– Atiku’s Lobbyist Tells Tinubu

A US-based lobbying firm recently engaged by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned the Nigerian government against interpreting diplomatic engagement with the United States as an endorsement of President Bola Tinubu or the drug trafficking allegations surrounding his past in the country.

Von-Batten-Montague-York, which has been involved in efforts to obtain US government records concerning Tinubu, made the remark in a statement posted on its X account on Wednesday.

The firm accused the Nigerian Presidency of portraying routine expressions of support from Washington as evidence of exceptional approval from the United States.

It said such an interpretation was a misunderstanding of how US foreign policy operates, arguing that Washington could maintain diplomatic relations with foreign leaders while simultaneously pursuing separate strategic and law-enforcement interests.

“The Nigerian Presidency is mistaking U.S. geopolitical interests for U.S. approval,” the firm said.

It added that diplomatic engagement with Tinubu should not be interpreted as an endorsement of allegations concerning his past.

“Do not mistake American diplomacy for an endorsement of President Tinubu or for approval of his alleged heroin-trafficking crimes against the United States,” the firm said.

The statement came amid an ongoing US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving requests for records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) relating to Tinubu.

American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan is pursuing the case, while Von-Batten-Montague-York has participated in the litigation as part of its efforts to secure the release of the records.

The lobbying firm had earlier raised a fresh allegation concerning an alleged $3 million offer made by an individual it said was connected to Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC.

According to the firm, a screenshot of part of a WhatsApp conversation showed an unnamed individual proposing a deal worth at least $3 million and seeking a private meeting with its principal.

The firm said the identity of the individual had been redacted and would only be disclosed to US law-enforcement authorities.

It added that the communication formed part of a larger body of material that had been preserved and provided to the US Department of Justice.

The alleged offer has not been independently established, and the firm has not publicly identified the person it claims made it.

Bola Tinubu; FBI

The development followed an earlier allegation by the firm that the Nigerian Presidency had been told that the FBI and DEA records would not be released and that a proposed meeting between Tinubu and US President Donald Trump would proceed because the Americans had been “settled.”

However, Von-Batten-Montague-York expressly acknowledged that it had not independently verified that claim.

The firm also said it had no evidence connecting the alleged $3 million offer to a proposed US-Nigeria minerals agreement expected to be signed during the United Nations General Assembly.

It nevertheless said the timing of the proposed agreement and the other allegations created what it described as an “appearance problem” that warranted scrutiny.

The firm said it had consequently begun drawing the attention of members of the Trump administration to the issue.

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