NEW YORK — A Washington-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten Montague York, says it has begun engaging senior officials at the United States Mission to the United Nations over historical FBI and DEA records relating to allegations concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The firm disclosed the development in a statement posted on its X account, @batten_von, saying its engagement with U.S. officials commenced on September 8. According to the firm, the move followed a recent meeting between Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Von Batten Montague York said it presented what it described as an ongoing dispute involving historical allegations attributed to U.S. law-enforcement agencies, particularly the FBI and DEA. The firm alleges that the records concern claims linking Tinubu to a criminal organisation allegedly involved in heroin trafficking from Nigeria to the United States during the 1980s and 1990s.
The lobbying firm said its immediate objective was to ensure that relevant U.S. policymakers and decision-makers had access to what it considers pertinent information and arguments before making decisions concerning the matter.
The latest development adds another dimension to the increasingly contentious dispute surrounding requests for the release of historical U.S. government records relating to Tinubu. The underlying litigation is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) records dispute, rather than a criminal prosecution of the Nigerian President. The Presidency has repeatedly stressed that the release or withholding of records under FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability.
The Presidency has also acknowledged Tinubu’s involvement in a 1993 U.S. drug-related investigation and civil forfeiture proceedings involving $460,000, while maintaining that there was no criminal conviction against him arising from the matter. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has described the current litigation as a civil records dispute and said neither the U.S. government nor the court has found Tinubu criminally liable in the case.
Von Batten Montague York has nevertheless continued to aggressively press its allegations in Washington. The firm had earlier stated that it intended to embarrass Tinubu during his expected appearance at the United Nations General Assembly, although it has expressly rejected speculation that there is a plan to arrest the Nigerian President in New York.
The firm has also criticised reported efforts to facilitate a meeting or photograph between Tinubu and U.S. President Donald Trump during the UN General Assembly. It argued that such an encounter would be inappropriate given the allegations and ongoing dispute over the historical U.S. records. The firm has previously claimed that a Tinubu-Trump meeting at the UN would not happen, though such claims represent the lobbying firm’s position and are not evidence of an official White House decision.
The controversy is unfolding as New York prepares for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, with the High-Level Week scheduled for September 18–28, 2026, and the General Debate beginning on September 22. The gathering is expected to bring heads of state, government leaders and senior diplomats from around the world to New York. �
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The involvement of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations is therefore politically significant, particularly because it places the dispute within the wider diplomatic environment surrounding the Nigerian President’s expected participation in the global gathering.
However, the allegations advanced by Von Batten Montague York remain claims made by the private lobbying firm and should not be presented as established findings of the FBI, DEA, the U.S. government or a U.S. court. The Presidency has strongly disputed the firm’s interpretation of the records and accused it of presenting political advocacy as though it represented the official position of the U.S. government.
Von Batten Montague York says it intends to continue briefing U.S. officials and pressing its arguments as diplomatic engagements between Nigeria and the United States intensify around the UN General Assembly.
The coming days in New York could therefore bring renewed scrutiny of the long-running Tinubu records controversy, particularly if the lobbying firm’s campaign succeeds in placing the disputed allegations before additional U.S. policymakers.
