FG enters $9m deal with US lobbyists amid Trump strike threats

The Nigerian government has reportedly contracted a US Republican-connected lobbying firm in a $9 million effort to persuade Washington that it is taking the protection of Christians seriously.

Aster Legal, a law firm based in Kaduna State, engaged the DCI Group on behalf of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu last month to “assist the Nigerian government … in communicating its actions to protect Nigeria’s Christian communities and maintaining US support in countering West African jihadist groups and other destabilising elements,” according to a newly released filing with the US Department of Justice, reports AFP.

Under the agreement signed on December 12, Nigeria paid DCI a $4.5 million retainer covering six months of work for “public affairs, government relations and advocacy services.”

The deal will automatically renew for another six months unless either party cancels it.

The contract was signed by Aster Legal managing director Oyetunji Olalekan Teslim and DCI Group managing partner Justin Peterson.

Peterson, who once served as political director for Elizabeth Dole’s 2000 presidential campaign, later became US President Donald Trump’s representative to the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico during Trump’s first term.

He is part of a nine-person team assigned to the Nigerian account, which also includes outside consultant Roger Stone, a long-time Republican strategist and Trump ally who recently emerged as a lobbyist for Somalia.

At $750,000 per month, the deal is far larger than any other current African lobbying contract and appears to set a new record for the continent, highlighting the Nigerian government’s urgency to repair relations with Washington.

“Increased engagement between the US and Nigeria is a step in the right direction,” says Chidi Blyden, the former top Pentagon civilian for Africa policy under then-President Joe Biden.

“Given the ongoing strikes in northern Nigeria to root out terrorist havens, having open lines of communication across multiple sectors between the two governments is key,” says Blyden, who has warned against framing Nigerian violence primarily through a religious lens.

“It’s a sign that President Bola Tinubu’s administration wants a relationship with the Trump administration and it is taking steps to do this through the private sector,” he added.

President Tinubu’s government is trying to move past the fallout from November, when Trump designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom, accusing officials of failing to protect Christians.

That designation was followed by US missile strikes on Christmas Day, which the Pentagon said targeted Islamic State militants, though reports from the ground suggested widespread confusion.

“I’d love to make it a one-time strike,” Trump told the New York Times in an interview published on January 8. “But if they continue to kill Christians, it will be a many-time strike.”

The Nigerian government said it cooperated with the strikes, but many analysts warn that more attacks could worsen the situation.

DCI is not the only firm representing Nigeria in Washington.

Attorney Johanna Leblanc, a former congressional foreign policy aide who now leads the Global Public Policy Practice at the Adomi Advisory Group, is also working for Nigeria.

She reportedly got $5,000 last fall to draft letters to the chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, Chris Smith and Sara Jacobs, ahead of a hearing on insecurity in Nigeria.

Although the filing lists Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance as the client, the letters were written on behalf of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Along with submitting a statement to the committee, Akpabio offered to travel to Washington and invited US lawmakers to visit Nigeria.

“Nigeria would be honoured to host you in Abuja at a mutually convenient date, to continue these discussions and engage stakeholders from across the government, civil society organisations and religious communities,” he wrote.

“Such a visit would further strengthen diplomatic cooperation and provide firsthand insight into ongoing security and interfaith initiatives.”

DCI also represents several other international clients, including Myanmar’s junta at $3 million per year, Venezuelan political prisoner Juan Pablo Guanipa on a pro bono basis, and the European Union mission to the US.

In the past, the firm also represented Congolese businessman and former Katanga governor Moise Katumbi for $15,000 per month.