Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s camp has challenged President Bola Tinubu to address American court and government records cited by his critics instead of attacking the character of lobbyist Karl Von Batten.
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, made the challenge in a statement released on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in response to remarks from the presidency through Sunday Dare.
Shaibu accused the presidency of attempting to divert attention from the issues raised by focusing on Von Batten’s ancestry, marriage, name and business background.
“At this rate, perhaps the next response from the Presidency will tell Nigerians the colour of Karl Von Batten’s socks and what he eats for breakfast. But after all the mockery, genealogy and amateur detective work, the documents will still be there,” Shaibu said.
According to Shaibu, Atiku’s $1.2 million engagement with Von Batten-Montague-York was voluntarily filed with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), with the details publicly disclosed.
He then questioned Tinubu over two issues he said were contained in American records.
The first was Tinubu’s reported connection to a historical US federal narcotics and money-laundering investigation. The second concerned a US District Court decree ordering the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account bearing Tinubu’s name.
“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 acknowledged that civil forfeiture does not amount to a criminal conviction, but argued that the court record could not simply be dismissed.
“President Tinubu cannot abuse, mock or distract a court record out of existence,” he added.
Shaibu also accused the Tinubu administration of hypocrisy over criticism of Atiku’s lobbying arrangement.
He claimed the administration entered into an arrangement with the DCI Group worth $750,000 monthly, amounting to $4.5 million during the first six months, with contractual terms that could take the total to $9 million.
“When you spend millions lobbying Washington, it is diplomacy. When Atiku spends $1.2 million over an entire year, it becomes desperation. What magnificent hypocrisy,” Shaibu said.
He argued that Nigerians should instead be focused on issues including the rising cost of food, transport and electricity, as well as the weakening purchasing power of the naira.
