A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., has alleged that Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, threatened to kidnap and physically harm its principal, Dr Karl Von Batten, in connection with the firm’s push to publicise drug-trafficking allegations involving President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement posted on its verified X account, the firm said it has begun briefing the US State Department on the alleged threat and has forwarded a report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation over what it termed “transnational repression.”
“We have begun briefing the State Department concerning the Nigerian Presidency’s threat, through one of its ambassadors, to kidnap and physically harm Dr. Von Batten,” the firm said.
The lobbying outfit named Fani-Kayode directly and said it is preparing to sue the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the former aviation minister over the alleged threats. It said the conduct was being documented as a possible case of transnational repression — a term the US Department of Justice uses to describe tactics by foreign governments to harm, intimidate, threaten, harass or coerce individuals abroad.
The firm also cited US federal law on international terrorism, indicating it intends to bring the matter before a federal court, including arguments on sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
The allegation marks the latest escalation in a widening standoff between Von Batten-Montague-York and officials and allies of President Tinubu, stemming from the firm’s campaign to secure the release of US records tied to historical drug-trafficking allegations against the Nigerian leader.
Neither the Nigerian Presidency nor Fani-Kayode had responded to the allegations at the time of this report.
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