A Washington-based lobbying and advisory firm working on behalf of former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar has questioned the circumstances surrounding a proposed U.S.-Nigeria critical minerals agreement, alleging it may be linked to President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to secure a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, said in social media posts that it had been told by unnamed Nigerian sources that officials close to the presidency privately expressed confidence that U.S. law enforcement records concerning Tinubu, held by the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, would not be released. The firm said these sources described the two governments as having “settled the Americans,” a Nigerian expression it said implies something of value was exchanged for favorable treatment. It stressed that it had not independently verified the claims.
The firm separately alleged an unsolicited $3 million offer had been made by a member of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress said to be connected to Tinubu, though it said it had no evidence linking that alleged offer to the minerals negotiations.
Von Batten-Montague-York said it had informed the Trump administration of what it described as a “serious appearance problem” that could arise should a minerals agreement be signed on the sidelines of this week’s UN General Assembly gathering in New York, given the unresolved legal questions surrounding the records request. The firm separately said it had been told that congressional Democrats intend to scrutinize any such agreement, along with the role of U.S. officials involved in African critical minerals policy, as part of broader oversight of the administration’s dealings on the continent.
The Nigerian government has not issued a public response to the allegations. Nigeria’s Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and U.S. officials, including Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, have separately confirmed progress on a bilateral minerals framework intended to unlock investment in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, which Nigerian authorities have valued at as much as $700 billion. Officials from both governments have described the partnership in positive terms, with Landau citing expanded cooperation between Washington and Abuja under Trump and Tinubu.
Both a planned Tinubu-Trump meeting and the minerals agreement remain scheduled to proceed, according to available reporting.
