How Did You Manage To Fool Atiku?” — Fani-Kayode Blasts US Lobbyist Firm

Ambassador-designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has accused a United States-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York LC, of spreading what he described as defamatory information about President Bola Tinubu.

Fani-Kayode also challenged the firm’s owner, Karl Ikemefuna Von Batten, to provide evidence supporting allegations that Tinubu received $3 million through an associate in exchange for his silence.

According to Ireporter Online, Fani-Kayode made the remarks in a statement shared on his X account, where he said his email and direct messages had been flooded with materials published by the lobbyist concerning the Nigerian president.

He described the publications as unfounded and accused Von Batten of attempting to portray Tinubu as a criminal despite the president not having been convicted of any offence.

Fani-Kayode urged those pursuing the disclosure case involving Tinubu in the United States to allow the judicial process to take its course. He expressed confidence that the American judiciary would uphold the rule of law and protect what he described as the president’s legitimate privacy rights.

The former minister also questioned Von Batten’s background and alleged that the lobbyist had become personally obsessed with the case. He raised questions about his identity, educational history and the circumstances surrounding his use of the surname Von Batten.

Fani-Kayode further alleged that Von Batten had been engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and paid $1.2 million for legal and lobbying efforts against Tinubu.

He questioned how Atiku could have been persuaded to spend such an amount on what he described as an ultimately futile campaign.

Fani-Kayode also challenged claims about Von Batten’s academic credentials, alleging that there was no publicly available evidence confirming his purported attendance at institutions including Oxford, Columbia, Harvard, Cornell and the New York Institute of Technology.

The ambassador-designate maintained that the lobbying campaign and legal proceedings in the United States would not determine Tinubu’s political future.

He insisted that the president’s fate would ultimately be determined by God and the Nigerian electorate, rather than by Von Batten, his firm or others campaigning against the Nigerian leader.