A United States-based policy advisory and lobbying firm associated with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has alleged that its founder, Karl Von Batten, was offered $3 million and invited to a private meeting in London in an attempt to persuade him to stop making allegations against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, disclosed the claim in a statement shared on its X account on Wednesday.
According to the firm, the alleged offer was made several days ago by a prominent individual who the organisation said it had been informed was linked to President Tinubu.
The firm claimed the proposal was aimed at getting Von Batten to discontinue his campaign over allegations concerning what it described as records allegedly linking Tinubu to heroin trafficking.
In the statement, the firm said, “A few days ago, Dr Von Batten received unsolicited offers of $3 million, along with an invitation to a confidential meeting in London, from a highly placed individual whom we have been informed is connected to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu (@officialABAT).”
Von Batten-Montague-York said its founder turned down the alleged offer and took steps to preserve copies of the communications exchanged with the person said to have made the approach.
The organisation further claimed that Von Batten reached out to individuals involved in Atiku Abubakar’s political campaign to determine whether they knew anything about the alleged intermediary or the person’s claimed connection to the Nigerian president.
It also alleged that attacks against its founder intensified shortly after he rejected the purported offer.
The firm said it intends to forward details of the alleged $3 million proposal, including the communications surrounding it, to the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigation and review.
The organisation did not provide publicly available evidence in the statement to independently establish the identity of the alleged intermediary or confirm the person’s claimed connection to Tinubu.
Concluding its statement, the firm addressed President Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their associates, saying, “We have a simple message for President Bola Tinubu, the APC, and their associates: Thank you for the offer, but no thanks.”
