Photo Credit: The Sun Nigeria / File Photo of Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Tinubu
Atiku to Presidency: Explain Tinubu’s $460,000 U.S. Forfeiture, Not My Lobbyist
The Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to explain the circumstances surrounding the $460,000 forfeiture linked to him in the United States, instead of attacking his U.S. lobbyist.

Atiku stated this in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. The statement was a response to comments by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare.

Dare had faulted Atiku’s engagement of U.S. lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, and cautioned against presenting its managing partner, Karl Von Batten, as having direct access to U.S. President Donald Trump or the influence to affect ongoing court proceedings.

Shaibu said the Presidency was diverting attention from the substantive issues raised in U.S. judicial records by questioning the background of Atiku’s lobbyist.

According to filings at the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Atiku engaged the firm in March 2025 under a $1.2 million contract to protect and strengthen his reputation in the U.S. and to counter narratives being pushed by the Nigerian government in Washington.

The firm disclosed in July that it had begun presenting Department of Justice records relating to drug trafficking allegations involving Tinubu to members of the Trump administration, Congress and senior congressional staff.

Shaibu stressed that Atiku’s relationship with the firm was duly registered and not a covert attempt to influence the U.S. government.

“These are not documents written by Atiku Abubakar. They were not manufactured by Karl Von Batten. They form part of an American judicial record,” Shaibu said.

He noted that while civil forfeiture does not amount to a criminal conviction, the existence of the 1993 U.S. District Court order forfeiting $460,000 held in an account linked to Tinubu remains a legitimate matter for public explanation.

Shaibu also accused the Tinubu administration of double standards. He alleged that the Federal Government separately engaged DCI Group in a deal worth $750,000 monthly, amounting to $4.5 million for the first six months and potentially $9 million.

He argued that both principals have the right to hire lobbyists and questioned why Atiku’s engagement was being portrayed as desperation, adding that the administration should focus on economic hardship, rising food and transport costs, electricity, and insecurity.

“President Tinubu, before counting Atiku’s $1.2 million, account for your own $9 million arrangement. And before attacking the messenger, answer the $460,000 question,” Shaibu said.
Source: The Sun Nigeria