BREAKING: US COURT FILING ALLEGES TINUBU GOVERNMENT PAYS DCI-LINKED LOBBYING FIRM $750,000 MONTHLY

A filing submitted to a United States federal court has alleged that the Nigerian government pays $750,000 monthly to DCI Group AZ, LLC, an affiliate associated with the Washington-based public affairs and lobbying firm DCI Group.

The allegation was contained in a court submission by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who is pursuing litigation seeking access to United States government records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and an alleged federal investigation dating back to the early 1990s.

The filing, submitted on October 8, 2026, forms part of Greenspan’s ongoing legal efforts to obtain documents from US government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The dispute involves records held by American law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Greenspan filed a request for judicial notice in support of his efforts to obtain permission to pursue limited discovery in the case. The request seeks to introduce additional information and public records that he considers relevant to the ongoing proceedings.

According to the submission, DCI Group AZ, LLC, which is associated with DCI Group, receives $750,000 monthly from the government of the intervenor in the litigation, a reference to Tinubu’s government.

The filing also alleges that an account managed by the DCI-linked entity published a post attacking Greenspan on August 5, 2026. However, the allegation does not establish that the Nigerian government ordered, financed or authorised the alleged online attack, nor does it demonstrate that the monthly lobbying payment was connected to the incident.

The court filing further refers to allegations by US prosecutors concerning a Washington-based public affairs and lobbying firm that allegedly engaged Israeli contractors whose operators directed the hacking of electronic accounts belonging to targets connected to a lobbying project. The filing identifies DCI Group as the firm referred to in those allegations.

However, the material presented by Greenspan does not establish that DCI Group or the Nigerian government was responsible for the alleged cyberattacks on his website. The claims remain part of ongoing legal proceedings and should not be treated as findings of wrongdoing by a court.

The latest submission is connected to Greenspan’s broader legal battle over access to historical US law-enforcement records concerning Tinubu and an individual identified in the case as Abiodun Agbele.

Tinubu intervened in the lawsuit in October 2023, citing privacy interests involving confidential tax records and federal law-enforcement documents. In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and the DEA could not maintain blanket refusals to confirm or deny whether responsive records existed. The judge upheld the CIA’s refusal to confirm or deny the existence of such records. The ruling did not establish criminal wrongdoing by Tinubu.

The $750,000 monthly figure has also appeared in earlier reporting on Nigeria’s engagement of DCI Group through Aster Legal, a Kaduna-based law firm. Documents filed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act indicated that the agreement was signed in December 2025 and covered lobbying and communications intended to explain Nigeria’s efforts to protect Christian communities and maintain US support for counterterrorism operations.

The initial six-month contract was valued at $4.5 million, equivalent to $750,000 per month, with the possibility of renewal for a further six months. TheCable reported in January 2026 that the contract was arranged through Aster Legal on behalf of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

The arrangement has prompted questions about the cost of foreign lobbying, the objectives of the engagement and the extent to which Nigerians can assess its results. The government’s stated purpose for the contract, as reported in earlier coverage, was to communicate its security and religious-freedom efforts to US policymakers.

Separately, DCI Group has recently rejected allegations made in an unrelated $57 million lawsuit filed against Tinubu, the Nigerian government, former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode and the lobbying firm. DCI said its work for Nigeria focused on strengthening relations with US policymakers. Those allegations are also disputed and have not been established by a court.

The latest court submission does not itself establish that the Nigerian government financed the alleged online attack on Greenspan, or that the lobbying contract was used for that purpose. It also does not mean that the judge has approved all the requests contained in the filing.

As the legal proceedings continue, the relationship between the lobbying firm, the Nigerian government and the allegations raised by Greenspan is likely to remain under scrutiny. The key issues include the scope of the contract, the evidence supporting the allegations of online attacks and whether the court will permit the additional discovery sought by the plaintiff.

Street News Reporters will continue to monitor developments in the case as further court decisions or official responses become available.