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A United States-based Republican lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has intensified its criticism of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, claiming he is equating his alleged past drug links with Nigeria.
In a post shared on X on Thursday, Batten-Montague-York, which has publicly acknowledged working on behalf of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said its team spent the day meeting with members of the US Congress and thanked Congressman Chris Smith for raising concerns about Nigeria during a congressional hearing titled “UN Accountability and Reform: Advancing an America First Foreign Policy.”
Turning its attention to Tinubu, the firm claimed the Nigerian leader had criticised Atiku for hiring it to engage US policymakers.
“We want to focus squarely on Nigerian President Tinubu for a moment. President Tinubu just attacked former Vice President Atiku for hiring us to look out for the interests of all Nigerians in the halls of the White House and Congress,” it added.
Batten-Montague-York further alleged that Tinubu was portraying efforts to brief American officials on his past as an attack on Nigeria.
“President Tinubu equates briefing the White House and Congress on his alleged links to heroin trafficking from Nigeria to Chicago with an attack on Nigeria and as an unpatriotic act,” the firm claimed.
The firm argued that criticism of the President should not be interpreted as criticism of Nigeria or its citizens.
“It is unfortunate that a sitting Nigerian President, #Tinubu, equates drug trafficking with Nigeria and with everyday, hardworking Nigerians who have been struggling to feed their families since he became President,” it wrote.
“The Giant of Africa, Nigeria, and the amazing people of Nigeria are not drug traffickers, and your attempt to link your alleged illegal activities to Nigeria speaks more about you than it does about Nigeria. Calling out drug dealers is not unpatriotic. It is justice.”
Batten-Montague-York contrasted Tinubu with Atiku Abubakar and vowed to continue pressing US authorities to investigate the Nigerian President.
“President Tinubu, you are not on the same level as His Excellency Atiku Abubakar. He is a statesman,” the firm added.
“We are all sinners in the eyes of God, but only you and your friends have allegedly sold heroin (poison) to Americans. We will never know how many American children have died because of your alleged actions, but we are Americans. Furthermore, we are @Republicans and members of the @GOP, and we love our country.
“We will not stop until your name is one day added to the list of heads of state indicted by the United States for drug trafficking, alongside Juan Orlando Hernández, Manuel Noriega, and Nicolás Maduro.”
Tinubu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing over longstanding allegations relating to a US narcotics investigation dating back to the early 1990s.
No US court has convicted the Nigerian President of drug trafficking, although documents relating to the forfeiture of funds connected to a US investigation have remained a subject of political controversy in Nigeria.
Today, we had a productive day speaking with Members of Congress, and we thanked Congressman Chris Smith, a wonderful person who cares about life, for calling out the evil of Tinubu’s (@officialABAT) government during today’s congressional hearing titled “@UN Accountability and… pic.twitter.com/woozcaQgMR
— Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. (@batten_von) July 23, 2026
