*Suit alleges defamation and plot to kidnap; legal experts point to sovereign immunity hurdles.
WASHINGTON American lobbyist Dr. Karl Von Batten and his firm have filed a $57 million federal lawsuit in Washington against Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian government, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, and a U.S. public relations agency, alleging defamation and a plot to physically harm him.
The civil complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses the defendants of targeted defamation and conspiring to abduct Von Batten in response to his firm’s political advocacy in Washington. Court dockets confirm that formal summonses have been issued.
The lawsuit breaks down the requested $57 million in damages into three separate claims:
$36 millions jointly from President Tinubu and the Federal Government of Nigeria;
$18 million from DCI Group, a Washington-based public affairs and lobbying firm; and
$3 million from Femi Fani-Kayode, a former minister and prominent ally of the administration.
Von Batten’s firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, previously represented former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Tinubu’s chief rival in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
In recent months, Von Batten has lobbied U.S. federal law enforcement agencies—including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—demanding the declassification of historical files concerning past allegations against Tinubu. The suit claims the alleged retaliation and smear campaign were initiated to suppress these Washington lobbying efforts.
Fani-Kayode has dismissed the claims as false and groundless. Representatives for the Nigerian presidency and DCI Group have not yet filed formal responses.
Legal analysts expect the case to face immediate procedural hurdles under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), a federal law that generally grants foreign governments and sitting heads of state immunity from civil suits in U.S. courts.
Initial proceedings will likely focus on whether U.S. courts hold jurisdiction over the foreign officials before the court considers the merits of the claims. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
