Fani-Kayode Tackles Von Batten over Tinubu Allegations, Questions Credentials, Motives
Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has launched a blistering attack on Dr. Karl Ikemefuna von Batten over his persistent allegations against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, challenging him to substantiate his claims and questioning his identity, professional credentials and motives.
Fani-Kayode, in a statement titled “Who is Karl Ikemefuna von Batten and What is He Hiding?”, accused von Batten and his firm, Von Batten-Montague-York LC, of conducting what he described as a sustained campaign to discredit the Nigerian president.
He particularly rejected an allegation attributed to von Batten that an associate of Tinubu attempted to arrange a meeting with him in London and offered him $3 million in exchange for his silence.
Fani-Kayode described the allegation as false and challenged von Batten to produce credible evidence to support it, stressing that Tinubu had not been convicted or indicted for any crime by a court in the United States or elsewhere.
He also urged von Batten and those associated with the ongoing litigation in the United States to await the outcome of the judicial process rather than draw conclusions before the court delivers its decision.
According to Fani-Kayode, he remained confident that the American judiciary would determine the matter on its merits and uphold the rule of law.
He echoed an earlier position attributed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who reportedly described the United States disclosure case as a “storm in a tea cup” that was “going nowhere.”
Fani-Kayode also criticised von Batten’s threats to report individuals who challenged his position to institutions in the United States, including Congress, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White House.
Read Also:
He maintained that neither the litigation nor the public campaign surrounding it would determine Tinubu’s political future, arguing that the President’s fate ultimately rested with Nigerians and the country’s democratic process.
The former minister further questioned von Batten’s background and use of the surname “von Batten,” alleging that his records carried the Nigerian name Ikemefuna Okeke.
Fani-Kayode claimed he had been informed that von Batten adopted the surname through his marriage to Elizabeth von Batten and challenged him to publicly clarify the circumstances surrounding his name and identity.
He also raised questions about von Batten’s educational background, citing claims that he attended institutions including Oxford, Columbia, Harvard, Cornell and the New York Institute of Technology.
Fani-Kayode said he had not seen publicly verifiable records confirming those academic claims and challenged von Batten to disclose the institutions he attended and provide evidence of his qualifications.
He further alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had paid von Batten $1.2 million in connection with his activities, although the statement provided no documentary evidence to substantiate the alleged payment.
The former minister accused von Batten of misleading those supporting his activities and predicted that efforts to use the American legal process against Tinubu would ultimately fail.
Fani-Kayode’s statement contained several strongly worded personal attacks on von Batten, including disparaging remarks about his character, mental state, marriage, ancestry and gender expression. He nevertheless centred his substantive challenge on whether von Batten could provide evidence for his allegations against Tinubu, his claimed academic qualifications and other representations he had allegedly made publicly.
He called the allegations against the President politically motivated and maintained that criticism and scrutiny of Tinubu should be based on verifiable evidence rather than what he described as falsehoods and character assassination.
Fani-Kayode, a lawyer and former Minister of Culture and Tourism as well as Aviation, has been designated Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, with concurrent accreditation to Lesotho and Eswatini.
By PRNigeria
