US lobby firm files FOIA to force Tinubu to reveal $700bn mining deal

A United States-based political advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, says it has filed a Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, request to get the full details of the $700 billion mining deal signed between Nigeria and America.

Von Batten-Montague-York made this known in a post on its verified X handle on Thursday.

The firm said it took the action after President Bola Tinubu refused to disclose the details of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to Nigerians.

It added that it has heard the voices of Nigerians demanding transparency over the MoU signed by the Nigerian Presidency and the United States.

According to the firm, the Tinubu administration has signed many deals with Europe and borrowed billions of dollars, yet Nigerians are kept in the dark.

“This time around, he is not dealing with Europe, and we are not in Nigeria. We are in the United States, a country where the rule of law still exists,” it said.

Von Batten-Montague-York further stated that it filed the FOIA request with the US State Department on Thursday morning, asking for the signed mining MoU and all records about how it was negotiated.

“Nigerians want to know what was signed in their names regarding their God-given natural resources,” it added.

The firm noted that Americans have an interest in knowing what was agreed and what protections exist for affected communities, promising to publish the documents once it receives them.

“We fully support the United States’ push to secure access to critical minerals, but we strongly believe that the United States must not become like China while trying to outcompete China,” it said.

The Presidency has not yet reacted to the FOIA filing.