TD A Washington, D.C.-based Republican policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. (VBMY), has said it will work to prevent Nigerian President Bola Tinubu from engaging with U.S. President Donald Trump or other Republican officials during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The firm’s founder, Dr. Karl Von Batten, made the declaration in a series of posts as the firm intensifies its advocacy over U.S. government records concerning Tinubu and a proposed Nigeria-US critical-minerals agreement.
In one of the posts, Von Batten accused Tinubu of having alleged links to a 1990s Chicago heroin-trafficking investigation.
He said Tinubu “must not be allowed anywhere near President @realDonaldTrump or any Republican official.”
The claims form part of an ongoing lobbying campaign by VBMY.
They should be understood as the firm’s allegations and advocacy position, rather than findings that Tinubu was criminally convicted of drug trafficking.
Firm renews allegations over Tinubu’s 1990s U.S. records
The renewed campaign centres on U.S. government records relating to an investigation and subsequent civil forfeiture proceedings from the early 1990s.
Court records from the Northern District of Illinois show that U.S. authorities pursued a civil forfeiture case involving bank accounts associated with Tinubu and other claimants.
A 1993 decree ordered $460,000 held in a First Heritage Bank account in the name of Bola Tinubu to be forfeited to the United States.
The decree stated that the funds represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions in violation of federal money-laundering statutes.
However, the proceeding was a civil forfeiture case, not a criminal prosecution of Tinubu, and there was no criminal conviction against him arising from that case.
The distinction was also addressed by Nigeria’s Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in 2023.
It held that the evidence before it did not establish that Tinubu had been convicted, sentenced or fined in a U.S. criminal proceeding.
FOIA case keeps records dispute alive
The controversy has been renewed by an ongoing U.S. Freedom of Information Act case brought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
In Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Greenspan sought FBI, DEA and other records concerning investigations involving Tinubu and Abiodun Agbele.
A 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell addressed the government’s handling of the FOIA requests and records concerning the alleged early-1990s drug-trafficking and money-laundering investigation.
More recently, Tinubu’s legal team has challenged the release of records relating to the investigation.
Tinubu had, in August, filed a case seeking to prevent the release of certain FBI and DEA records.
The FOIA litigation is a records-disclosure dispute and does not itself establish criminal wrongdoing by Tinubu.
Von Batten disputes proposed Trump-Tinubu engagement
Von Batten’s latest comments come ahead of the September 2026 UN General Assembly, where Tinubu is scheduled to participate.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, previously confirmed Tinubu’s attendance at the 81st UNGA.
Punch also reported that a possible encounter with Trump was being considered because of the expected seating arrangements at the General Assembly.
The Guardian reported that Tinubu is scheduled to address the General Debate on September 23.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to open the high-level debate on September 22.
Von Batten has nevertheless said his firm will oppose any engagement between Tinubu and Trump.
‘Settled the Americans’ allegation
The lobbying firm has also repeated an allegation that unnamed, “highly placed Nigerians” claimed the Nigerian Presidency believed a Tinubu-Trump meeting would proceed because Nigeria had “settled the Americans.”
VBMY itself expressly acknowledged that it had not independently verified the allegation.
The firm said it understood the expression “settled the Americans” in this context to mean that something of value had allegedly been provided in exchange for a favourable outcome.
The allegation has been reported by Nigerian media.
However, there is currently no independently established evidence demonstrating that Nigerian officials bribed U.S. officials or that any payment was made to secure a Trump-Tinubu meeting.
Minerals deal adds another dimension
The lobbying campaign is also tied to a proposed Nigeria-US minerals cooperation agreement expected to be discussed or signed around the UN General Assembly.
Reports indicate that the proposed agreement is intended to deepen cooperation between both countries in the exploration, mining, processing and development of critical minerals.
VBMY has argued that the timing of the proposed agreement, coming amid the FOIA dispute concerning Tinubu, could create what it describes as an appearance-of-impropriety concern.
The firm previously said it had begun briefing members of the Trump administration about its concerns.
Importantly, the lobbying firm has also acknowledged that it has no evidence connecting an alleged $3 million offer involving an individual it described as connected to Tinubu with the proposed minerals agreement.
Firm says Democrats could scrutinise minerals agreement
In another statement, VBMY warned that if congressional Democrats regain control of the U.S. House, they could scrutinise any U.S.-Nigeria minerals agreement and related involvement by U.S. officials.
That could form part of broader oversight of the Trump administration’s critical-minerals and mining arrangements.
The firm said its campaign over what it described as Tinubu’s alleged drug-trafficking history had become its “number one advocacy priority.”
It also repeated its call for Tinubu to be kept away from Trump and Republican officials.
The firm’s position is significant.
This is because VBMY has previously been identified as a U.S. lobbying firm retained by former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Punch reported in May that the firm had been engaging U.S. authorities on issues concerning Nigeria and the Tinubu administration.
Nigerian government position
The allegations made by VBMY have previously been disputed by Nigerian government officials and supporters of the Tinubu administration.
The Nigerian government has maintained that the U.S. records controversy relates to a civil records-disclosure case.
It also maintained that the 1993 forfeiture should not be characterised as a criminal conviction against Tinubu.
The documented court record establishes that $460,000 was forfeited, but it does not establish that Tinubu was criminally convicted of heroin trafficking in the United States.
As of publication, there is also no independently verified evidence establishing the lobbying firm’s allegation that Nigerian officials “settled” U.S. officials.
There is also no evidence in connection with either the proposed minerals agreement or a potential Trump-Tinubu meeting.
