A Washington policy advisory and lobbying firm, Von Batten Montague York, has called for the United States State Department to publish the signed Nigeria United States mining agreement after a Nigerian news report linked the deal to disputed claims involving President Bola Tinubu, old FBI and DEA records and the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger State.
NN News Media had reported that Nigerians were accusing President Bola Tinubu of sacrificing citizens and offering the United States a gold mine to block the release of alleged heroin trafficking records.
The firm said the issue had become a matter of concern for the integrity of the United States and called for publication of the signed memorandum of understanding so that the terms could be examined publicly.
The statement also pointed to growing congressional scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s critical minerals program. House Democrats have already raised concerns about the administration’s international minerals agreements, including transparency, labor and human rights protections, environmental safeguards, potential conflicts of interest and congressional oversight. In August, 54 House Democrats called on the administration to provide greater transparency around its critical minerals agreements.
Democrats have also said they intend to make broader investigations of the administration’s mining investments and critical minerals agreements a priority if they regain control of Congress. S&P Global reported on September 22 that lawmakers were preparing to use hearings, document requests, investigations and subpoena powers to examine the deals and government equity stakes in mining companies.
The Nigeria issue adds another layer to that wider debate.
The firm said Nigerians are questioning the alleged killing of 37 young men and children by Tinubu paramilitary forces for illegally mining. It said those mines have been described by Nigerian government officials as a settlement or bribe to the Trump Administration. It said the State Department must publish the signed memorandum of understanding to dispel growing accusations of corruption.
NN News Media had earlier reported that a planned Nigeria United States mining deal story was deleted after claims circulated that Americans had been paid off to stop the release of FBI and DEA records on Tinubu. That outlet also reported claims that Tinubu had offered one of the country gold mines while fighting in United States courts to keep the old files secret.
The same outlet later said the meeting some Nigerians were told would seal a bargain with President Donald Trump never happened and that the FBI placed another sworn court declaration about Tinubu on the record around the time Nigerian officials signed a non binding mining paper in New York.
Nigeria and the United States signed a framework agreement on 23 September 2026 at the Nigerian Mission House in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Nigeria Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake signed for Abuja. United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau signed for Washington.
The pact covers geological data and exploration mineral development and processing infrastructure and technical capacity. Nigeria estimates its mineral wealth at about 700 billion dollars and has said it wants local processing jobs and skills instead of remaining only a source of raw materials. Officials described the document as a government to government framework meant to open the way for later business deals.
The 37 deaths took place on 17 September 2026 in Minna the capital of Niger State. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps had raided suspected illegal gold mines on 15 and 16 September and held dozens of people including many teenagers aged 14 to 18.
Officials first said a disease outbreak caused the deaths. Other accounts pointed to overcrowding poor ventilation and lack of air in the cells. President Tinubu ordered a full investigation. Senior officers were suspended. Protests broke out and a curfew was imposed. Families and opposition figures have demanded answers about how the detainees died after the state took them into custody.
House Democrats have for months prepared oversight of the Trump Administration critical minerals program. They have raised questions about equity stakes in mining companies possible family and insider ties lack of transparency labor and environment standards and risk to taxpayers. Lawmakers have said they will use hearings document demands and subpoenas if they regain the House.
Von Batten Montague York describes itself as an all Republican partner firm in Washington that shares public interest information. The firm has separately pressed for release of historical FBI and DEA records from a 1990s heroin investigation and civil forfeiture case that named Tinubu. Those records remain the subject of ongoing Freedom of Information Act litigation. The firm has also said a planned high profile signing with Tinubu present was dropped after it contacted the Trump Administration though a framework was later signed by ministers without the Nigerian president in attendance. Tinubu was in Europe at the time.
The firm alerted the White House House and Senate Republicans the State Department press office and major news outlets. It said publishing the signed memorandum would answer the corruption claims now circulating in both countries after the NN News Media report and the Minna deaths.
The deaths have therefore generated two separate but now politically connected questions. The first is what happened to the 37 detainees and whether officials or detention conditions contributed to their deaths. The second is whether Nigeria’s new mineral cooperation with the United States has any connection to the separate dispute over the release of historical FBI and DEA records concerning Tinubu.
