Von Batten-Montague-York made the allegation in a statement on its official X account on Monday while commenting on the planned meeting between the two leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
The firm has been involved in efforts to obtain US government records relating to Tinubu, including documents held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The records are the subject of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act case in the US following requests by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
In its latest statement, the lobbying firm claimed it had been informed by what it described as “highly placed Nigerians” that the Nigerian Presidency was privately saying the FBI and DEA records would never be released.
It further alleged that the Presidency was confident Tinubu would secure a meeting with Trump because the Americans had been “settled”.
“We have been told by highly placed Nigerians that the Nigerian Presidency (@OfficialABAT) has been bragging privately that the @FBI and @DEAHQ records will never be released and that the pushed-for meeting between President Bola Tinubu and President Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly will happen because they have ‘settled the Americans’,” the firm said.
The firm, however, acknowledged that it had not independently verified the allegation.
It explained that the expression “settled the Americans” was being used in the Nigerian context to suggest that something of value may have been provided to obtain a favourable outcome.
The allegation comes as the Nigerian government prepares to announce a US-Nigeria minerals agreement expected to be signed during the UN General Assembly.
Von Batten-Montague-York said the timing of the proposed agreement raised concerns about the appearance of a possible conflict of interest and the need to protect the integrity of US institutions.
The firm also referred to an alleged unsolicited $3 million offer reportedly made by a member of the All Progressives Congress who it said was connected to Tinubu.
It stressed that it had no evidence linking the alleged offer to the proposed minerals agreement.
“After the unsolicited $3 million offer from a member of the @OfficialAPCNg who is connected to the Nigerian President #Tinubu, we believe these concerns cannot simply be dismissed,” the firm said.
“We have no evidence connecting that offer to the proposed minerals agreement.”
The lobbying firm said it had begun informing members of the Trump administration about what it described as a potential “appearance problem” surrounding the proposed signing of the minerals agreement at the UN.
Von Batten-Montague-York has been involved in the renewed campaign seeking the release of historical US records relating to allegations involving Tinubu.
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