…Says It’s an Honour to Stand With Nigerian President
By Jeremy Fregene
United States President Donald Trump has effectively brushed aside renewed lobbying efforts by a Washington-based firm working for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to resurrect decades-old allegations against President Bola Tinubu, declaring instead that it is “a true honour” to stand with the Nigerian leader in the fight against terrorism and in building a stronger and more prosperous Nigeria.
Trump’s endorsement, contained in a July 6 letter released by the Presidency on Wednesday, is being seen as a strong rebuttal to the campaign mounted by the lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., which only days earlier had attempted to rekindle the long-settled controversy surrounding a 1993 United States civil forfeiture case already adjudicated by Nigerian courts.
In the letter addressed to President Tinubu, Trump praised the Nigerian leader’s “decisive leadership on behalf of the Nigerian people,” particularly his determination to confront terrorism and protect vulnerable communities.
“I applaud your resolve to tackle the issues plaguing your nation, especially the violence affecting Christian communities, and it is a true honour to stand with you in the fight against terrorists and to make the Federal Republic of Nigeria stronger and more prosperous,” Trump wrote.
He described Nigeria as a critical strategic partner at a time of growing instability across West Africa, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to the two countries’ Defence Cooperation Roadmap and highlighting ongoing collaboration through intelligence sharing, military training, and joint counter-terrorism operations.
Trump noted that the deployment of elite United States Special Operations Forces to train Nigerian troops reflected America’s confidence in the Tinubu administration and expressed optimism about expanding bilateral cooperation during his presidency.
The letter came as something of a political setback for Atiku Abubakar’s Washington lobbyists, whose latest effort appeared aimed at drawing the Trump administration’s attention back to allegations that have already been exhaustively ventilated in Nigeria’s courts.
The lobbying firm recently announced that it had circulated more than 60 pages of old United States Department of Justice records relating to the 1993 civil forfeiture proceedings to officials in the Trump administration and members of Congress, while claiming that some recipients had previously been unfamiliar with the historical case.
The campaign has, however, attracted criticism from political observers who argue that it amounts to little more than an attempt to reopen an issue that has long been settled through Nigeria’s judicial process.
During the 2023 presidential election litigation, Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party candidate Peter Obi relied heavily on the same 1993 civil forfeiture proceedings in challenging Tinubu’s qualification for office.
The Presidential Election Petition Court rejected those arguments, ruling that Tinubu had never been convicted of any criminal offence in the United States and that the forfeiture proceedings were civil, not criminal, in nature. The court further held that there was no evidence the President made any false declaration to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The decision was subsequently affirmed on appeal, bringing the matter to a legal close.
Against that backdrop, critics say the latest lobbying campaign appears to be grasping for political relevance by recycling allegations that have failed to survive judicial scrutiny in Nigeria.
The Trump administration’s public embrace of Tinubu, despite the renewed lobbying effort, is therefore likely to reinforce the view that Washington remains focused on strengthening security cooperation and strategic ties with Nigeria rather than revisiting a decades-old legal matter already resolved by the country’s courts.
The United States and Nigeria have significantly expanded security collaboration in recent months through a Joint Working Group established by Presidents Trump and Tinubu. The partnership has deepened intelligence sharing, military training, and joint operations against terrorist groups operating in the Lake Chad Basin and other parts of the region.
One of the most notable successes of the collaboration was the May 16 coordinated operation against ISIS hideouts around Lake Chad, during which the terrorist group’s top commander, Abubakar Al-Minoki, and several of his lieutenants were killed.
Last week, United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank Garcia also visited Abuja, where he met senior Nigerian officials and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to expanding cooperation with Nigeria on security and other strategic priorities.
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