President Bola Tinubu’s administration has reportedly spent $9 million on a Republican-linked lobbying firm in what has been described as an intensified bid to win favour in Washington, particularly with President Donald Trump, amid concerns over strained diplomatic relations and potential actions that could embarrass the Nigerian government ahead of Trump’s re-election campaign next year.
According to an article published on Tuesday by The Africa Report, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, engaged a Kaduna-based law firm, Aster Legal, to contract U.S. lobbying firm DCI Group. The mandate was to present Nigeria’s position to U.S. authorities and persuade the Trump administration that Abuja is taking concrete steps to combat terrorism, especially attacks targeting Christians in northern Nigeria.
As part of the arrangement, the Tinubu administration reportedly paid DCI Group an initial $4.5 million on December 12, 2025, as a six-month retainer. A second tranche of the same amount is expected to be paid by July 2026, making the deal one of the most expensive lobbying engagements ever undertaken by an African country.
Documents filed with the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly state that DCI Group was hired to help the Nigerian government communicate its efforts to protect Christian communities and to sustain U.S. backing in the fight against jihadist groups and other destabilising forces in West Africa.
The $9 million contract, which translates to $750,000 per month, was signed by Aster Legal’s managing director, Oyetunji Olalekan Teslim, and DCI Group’s managing partner, Justin Peterson, a close Trump associate who previously served on Puerto Rico’s management board during Trump’s first term.
The payment reportedly came weeks after President Trump redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” citing what he described as persistent and unchecked killings of Christians.
Shortly after the lobbying agreement was finalised, Trump announced a partial travel restriction on Nigerians, limiting access to tourist, business and student visas. The move was justified on grounds of visa overstays and what the U.S. described as inadequate security vetting mechanisms.
On December 25, 2025, Trump further disclosed that U.S. forces had carried out an airstrike in Sokoto State, northern Nigeria, targeting insurgent groups, and warned that additional strikes could follow if attacks on Christians continued.
Beyond DCI Group, Nigeria also reportedly sought other channels to influence U.S. policymakers. U.S. attorney and former congressional foreign policy official Johanna Blanc declared receiving a $5,000 payment to draft a letter addressed to Chris Smith, chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, ahead of a hearing on Nigeria’s security challenges.
Although Justice Department filings linked Ms Blanc’s work to Nigeria’s finance ministry, she reportedly stated that the letter was written on behalf of Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In the letter, Akpabio invited members of the congressional subcommittee to visit Abuja to engage government officials, civil society groups and religious leaders, with the aim of strengthening diplomatic ties and providing firsthand insight into Nigeria’s security and interfaith efforts.
Commenting on the multimillion-dollar lobbying deal, former Pentagon official Chidi Blyden said the scale of the contract underscored the Tinubu administration’s urgency in repairing relations with the Trump administration.
He noted that, given ongoing military operations against terrorist enclaves in northern Nigeria, sustained communication between both governments across multiple sectors is crucial. According to him, the engagement reflects the Nigerian government’s desire to rebuild ties with Washington and its decision to pursue that objective through private-sector intermediaries.
Last year, Peoples Gazette had reported that President Tinubu spent $2.7 million on U.S. lobbyists to address reputational concerns linked to past allegations surrounding drugs and document forgery in Washington.