TD A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., has announced plans to expand an ongoing federal defamation lawsuit by adding Nigerian journalist Laolu Akande, Channels Television and Empowered Newswire as defendants following statements aired during a recent television appearance.
The firm says the planned amendment relates to Von Batten v. Sahara Reporters Media Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-03209, pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The announcement represents an intention to amend the lawsuit. The materials reviewed by This Dawn do not establish that the proposed amended complaint naming the additional defendants has already been filed.
In a strongly worded public statement, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. characterised the television appearance as another episode in what the firm alleges is a “smear campaign.”
The firm said it intends to file its amended complaint after determining the status of service on Ademola Bello and Sahara Reporters.
Firm Warns Dispute Will Be Fought Under US Law
Beyond announcing the planned expansion of the lawsuit, the firm issued an unusually blunt warning to Ademola Bello and Sahara Reporters, saying efforts were underway to serve them with the summons and complaint.
The firm argued that Ademola Bello’s participation in the television discussion demonstrated awareness of the pending litigation and advised the prospective defendants to obtain qualified American lawyers.
Whatever political connections the parties might have in Nigeria, the firm declared, the dispute would be determined under United States law, federal evidentiary rules and procedures applicable in a United States federal court.
The statement made clear that Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. intends to pursue the dispute aggressively rather than confine the controversy to exchanges in the Nigerian media.
Congressional Contacts to Come Under Scrutiny
Perhaps the most consequential part of the firm’s announcement concerns a claim by Ademola Bello that he contacted members of the United States Congress.
Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. said it intends to contact the relevant congressional offices to establish precisely what was communicated and to whom.
The firm said the evidence could potentially form the basis of additional defamation allegations. It also suggested that, depending upon what an investigation establishes, questions could arise under federal statutes including 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001, 1505 and 1512.
Importantly, the firm’s invocation of those statutes is not a finding that any federal offence occurred. Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. itself stated that the evidence and appropriate authorities would determine whether any law had been violated.
Von Batten Offers Akande Access to Records
Karl Von Batten subsequently issued a personal statement offering Laolu Akande an in-person, off-camera interview in Washington, D.C., or New York.
According to the statement supplied to This Dawn, Karl Von Batten offered to produce what he described as underlying evidence relevant to claims broadcast about him, including academic records, degrees and presidential appointment documentation.
Karl Von Batten further offered to authorise institutions including Columbia University, A.T. Still University and the University of Oxford to respond directly to verification efforts.
He challenged Laolu Akande to scrutinise the documents, question him and independently contact the institutions.
Akande Given Deadline
The dispute escalated further when the lobbying firm stated that Laolu Akande had responded by referring to an issue from more than 23 years ago which, according to the firm, did not form part of the pending defamation action.
The firm’s latest X post says Laolu Akande has until 12 noon Eastern Time on Monday to state clearly whether the interview offer is accepted or rejected. It says the offer itself and the eventual response, including an absence of response, will be preserved.
The same post identifies the litigation as Von Batten v. Sahara Reporters Media Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-03209.
Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. argues that this record could become relevant to questions of knowledge, deliberate avoidance of the truth and actual malice, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657 (1989). That is presently the firm’s legal position, not a determination by the court.
Media Dispute Heads Toward Courtroom Showdown
The confrontation now threatens to transform what began as a bitter public dispute into a broader American defamation battle involving several Nigerian media figures and organisations.
But significant questions remain unresolved.
The allegations contained in the lobbying firm’s statements have not, on the material presently available, been adjudicated by the federal court. Likewise, the firm’s references to possible federal statutory issues should not be interpreted as criminal charges or findings of wrongdoing.
What is clear is that Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. is signalling that it intends to use discovery, documentary evidence and the American judicial process to test statements allegedly made about Karl Von Batten.
And rather than retreat after the television broadcast, the firm says it is doing the opposite: expanding the legal battlefield.
