The lobbyist engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to launder his image in the US has mocked Presidential aide, Sunday Dare, over his statement regarding the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, case against President Bola Tinubu in the US.
Dare said in a statement on Saturday that the US Court for the District of Columbia in a procedural ruling rejected an attempt by plaintiff Aaron Greenspan to secure limited discovery from Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and political consulting firm DCI Group.
According to the presidential aide, in the October 30 ruling, the court determined that the plaintiff, Aaron Greenspan’s requested discovery, which centered on alleged cyberattacks against his website, was not sufficiently relevant to the core legal issues of the FOIA dispute.
However, Atiku’s lobbyist, Karl Von Batten, in a post on X, chided Dare, saying what the presidential aide “is only half the story and a lie by omission.”
Van Batten further gave details of the decision of the US District Court; which, he said, Dare “intentionally left out.”
“As expected, the Nigerian Presidency (@officialABAT) exists in a world of untruths, half-truths, and fantasy. What @SundayDareSD has stated is only half the story and a lie by omission. Here are the facts:
“@SundayDareSD is correct that the @uscourts blocked Aaron Greenspan’s request to serve discovery on Nigerian President #Tinubu in an unrelated matter involving alleged hacking by the Nigerian Presidency and its agents, which had nothing to do with the FOIA request for alleged heroin-trafficking records. What he intentionally left out is that the court.
Van Batten said the court denied the @FBI ‘s and @DEAHQ ‘s cross-motions for summary judgment regarding the vast majority of their withholdings.
He said the court slammed the FBI and DEA for using “boilerplate” and “imprecise” excuses to hide information regarding #Tinubu and his alleged drug trafficking associate Agbele.
Van Batten stated other decisions of the District Court.
He said the court “firmly ruled that because a detailed DOJ asset-forfeiture affidavit from 1993, mapping out the drug-trafficking and money-laundering investigation into Tinubu, is already part of the public record, the FBI and DEA cannot use broad privacy or secrecy exemptions to keep that identical information redacted.
“Rejected the DEA’s excuses: The DEA tried to withhold pages using generic, single-sentence explanations regarding wiretaps and pen registers. The judge rejected these explanations, stating that the DEA had completely failed to meet its legal burden.
“Ordered the FBI and DEA to go back, review the files against the public record, and provide detailed justifications for why any portions of these files should remain secret by November 27, 2026.”
Van Batten urged Nigerians to take whatever information that comes out from the Presidency with a pinch of salt.
“Never trust anything the #Tinubu presidency says. They lie both directly and by omission.
“The court’s decision is a massive blow to President Tinubu, and the Tinubu presidency is trying to hide behind the judge’s denial of Aaron Greenspan’s request to question Tinubu in a matter unrelated to the FOIA case,” Van Batten said.
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