Nigeria hires US lobby firms amid Trump claims of christian ‘genocide’

Nigerian billionaire Matthew Tonlagha has signed a lucrative contract with the American lobbying firm Valcour, aimed at improving Abuja’s relations with Washington, according to documents reviewed by AFP on Monday.

The Nigerian government has already entered the lobbying arena: in December, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu concluded an agreement worth $750,000 per month with the American firm DCI to lobby the administration of President Donald Trump.

These efforts follow unsubstantiated accusations made by Donald Trump in late 2025, alleging that violence in Nigeria amounted to the “persecution” and “genocide” of Christians.

The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject this interpretation of the multiple overlapping conflicts affecting the country, a view long promoted by the American religious right.

DCI’s officially declared role is to help the government in Abuja communicate about “its actions aimed at protecting Christian communities and (maintaining) U.S. support in the fight against West African jihadist groups and other destabilizing elements.”

Tonlagha’s contract with the American group Valcour, valued at $120,000 per month, states that for six months, the firm will lobby U.S. media, the Trump administration, and the U.S. Congress “with the aim of strengthening the bilateral relationship between the United States and Nigeria.”

The contract is published on a U.S. government platform where lobbyists are required to register their ties with foreign governments.

On Christmas Day last year, the U.S. military bombed areas in northwestern Nigeria. The Nigerian government later stated that the strikes targeted fighters from the Islamic State group, members of the jihadist Lakurawa group, and gangs of “bandits.”

It is unknown how many fighters may have been killed or which groups they belonged to. Local and international journalists have only confirmed damage to farmland and civilian buildings, as well as injuries among the civilian population.

Valcour was founded in 2023 by Matt Mowers, who served as a White House adviser within the U.S. State Department during Trump’s first term, after advising his election campaign.

Tonlagha is vice president of Tantita Security, a company specializing in the protection of oil facilities. Tantita is owned by Oweizidei Thomas Ekpemupolo, a former prominent leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

MEND was created to oppose the appropriation of local oil by foreign companies and the Nigerian government.

In the 2000s, the rebels attacked oil and gas facilities in the hydrocarbon-rich south and kidnapped workers, before a government amnesty was introduced in 2009.

Ekpemupolo later secured lucrative contracts with the Nigerian government to protect oil facilities. He is a supporter of President Bola Tinubu and backs his bid for re-election in 2027.