Nigerian opposition lobbyist gets White House role, firm says

A Washington lobbying firm working for Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar said Karl Von Batten, one of its top employees, has been appointed to an unspecified White House commission before Nigeria's January presidential election.

Von Batten-Montague-York said in a statement Wednesday evening that Von Batten was grateful to US President Donald Trump for the appointment. The firm did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Earlier this year, the firm signed a 12-month agreement worth $1.2 million with Abubakar, who is contesting the Nigerian presidency. Disclosure forms viewed by AFP said the agreement aimed to advance understanding in US policymaking institutions of Abubakar's leadership and policy plans.

The firm has pushed to spotlight Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's past links to US drug enforcement records, including through Freedom of Information Act requests and lawsuits.

According to filings in a Chicago court in 1993, nearly $2 million suspected to have accrued from a heroin-trafficking network was said to have passed through Tinubu's US bank accounts. Tinubu strongly denied wrongdoing, was never convicted of a crime and reached an agreement with US authorities, who seized $460,000 from an account in his name in a drug-related property seizure.

US-Nigeria relations have been tense over the past year after Washington accused Nigeria of failing to do enough to protect Christians amid armed conflicts. The Nigerian government and independent analysts disputed claims that Christians face persecution or genocide. Abuja has also found common ground with Washington on military cooperation.