US Lobby Firm Accuses Nigerian Govt of Targeting Opponents, to Tell Trump
A United States-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., says it is engaging American authorities over alleged human rights concerns in Nigeria.
The firm, which was hired by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, claims it is drawing attention to what it describes as rising political intimidation and shrinking democratic space ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement shared on its official X handle on Monday, the firm alleged that the Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu is sliding toward authoritarian tendencies.
It said the administration was “increasingly displaying the behaviour of a single-party dictatorship consolidating power through fear and intimidation.”
The statement repeated the claim, stressing that “the Nigerian government under Bola Tinubu is increasingly displaying the behaviour of a single-party dictatorship consolidating power through fear and intimidation.”
It further alleged a pattern of arrests and prosecutions targeting critics of the government. According to the firm, “across Nigeria, public figures and ordinary citizens who criticise the current government are suddenly being arrested, detained, or charged with corruption,” adding that it is monitoring several cases it considers politically motivated.
The lobby group specifically referenced ongoing legal issues involving former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and businessman John Olatunde Ayeni.
It claimed El-Rufai was “charged after publicly criticising President Tinubu,” while Ayeni had “reportedly faced legal pressure after criticising the current government.”
It also argued that a wider trend was emerging in the political space. The firm said, “the common thread is becoming difficult to ignore: critics of the #Tinubu government are increasingly being targeted.”
Beyond high-profile figures, the group alleged that ordinary citizens were also affected, stating that “thousands of ordinary Nigerians with no public profile are being arrested, beaten, intimidated, or disappearing without international attention.”
It added that it plans to brief the administration of United States President Donald Trump and members of Congress on what it called “the growing weaponisation of state institutions to silence dissent ahead of the next presidential election.”
The statement comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding El-Rufai’s legal troubles. The former governor has reportedly spent 91 days in custody despite a Federal High Court ruling granting him ₦100 million bail in an alleged national security-related case. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik had set strict bail conditions, including a high-ranking civil servant surety and property documentation.
However, El-Rufai remains in detention due to a separate corruption-related matter, after a Kaduna State High Court ordered that he be held by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
