BREAKING: US Lobbying Firm Disputes Authenticity of Purported Trump Letter, Tells Nigerians Not to Be Fooled by Tinubu

A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has questioned the authenticity of a purported letter from United States President Donald Trump to President Bola Tinubu, alleging that Nigerians are being misled over the document circulating on social media.

The development comes after it was reported that a letter dated July 6, 2026, attributed to President Trump, praised Tinubu’s efforts to address Nigeria’s security challenges, particularly violence affecting Christian communities.

In the letter, Trump was quoted as describing it as an “honour” to stand with Tinubu in the fight against terrorism. The document also claimed that the United States had deployed Special Operations Forces to Nigeria under the US–Nigeria 2026 Defence Cooperation Roadmap to strengthen the country’s security capabilities.

According to the purported letter, the US-Nigeria partnership had grown stronger through cooperation on security and other strategic issues. Trump was also quoted as saying he applauded Tinubu’s determination to confront insecurity and protect vulnerable communities, adding that both countries shared a common objective of defeating terrorism.

However, Von Batten-Montague-York, a lobbying firm reportedly engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, challenged the credibility of the document in a statement posted on social media.

The firm compared the purported Tinubu letter with what it described as a genuine letter sent by Trump to Argentine President Javier Milei, arguing that there were significant differences between the two. “A Tale of Two Letters: On the left, we have an actual copy of President Donald Trump’s letter to Argentine President Javier Milei. On the right, we have what an account linked to President Tinubu, using the Facebook handle @PBATMediaCentre, has posted as President Trump’s letter to President Tinubu. The difference is beyond clear,” the firm stated.

The lobbying firm said it was not claiming that no diplomatic correspondence had been sent to Tinubu by the White House. It also said it was not directly accusing the Nigerian president of fabricating the letter. “We are not saying that a standard diplomatic response letter was never sent to President Tinubu. Nor are we saying that President Tinubu fabricated the purported letter,” the statement read.

The firm, however, questioned why the contents of the alleged letter had been published in full, including the date and signature block, instead of releasing a scanned copy of the signed document.

According to the statement, the absence of the original letter raises questions about its authenticity. “Until the actual letter is released, whether real or fake, Nigerians must understand that Tinubu is trying to fool you,” the lobbying firm alleged.

Neither the Presidency nor the White House had publicly responded to the firm’s claims at the time of filing this report. The authenticity of the purported Trump letter has also not been independently verified by this media.