How Tinubu Govt's $9m US Lobbying Firm Was Once Linked To Alleged Hacking Of Climate Activists

The filing, submitted on October 8, 2026, in a separate US federal court case involving American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, includes a sentencing memorandum prepared by US prosecutors in October 2023 concerning Israeli private intelligence operator Aviram Azari.

A US court filing has drawn attention to an international hacking operation that targeted government officials in several African countries and thousands of other individuals and organisations worldwide, as separate allegations link DCI Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm hired by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, to a hacking campaign against climate-change advocates.

The filing, submitted on October 8, 2026, in a separate US federal court case involving American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, includes a sentencing memorandum prepared by US prosecutors in October 2023 concerning Israeli private intelligence operator Aviram Azari.

The memorandum detailed a hacking-for-hire operation that prosecutors said targeted individuals and organisations across several countries, including government officials in various African countries, climate-change advocates, financial analysts and critics of German payment processing company Wirecard.

However, the allegations concerning DCI Group relate specifically to a separate strand of the hacking investigation involving climate-change advocates and people critical of American oil giant ExxonMobil.

There is no evidence in the sentencing memorandum establishing that DCI Group targeted African government officials or that the Nigerian government commissioned or financed any of the hacking operations.

African Government Officials Among Targets

According to the prosecutors’ account, Azari operated an Israeli private intelligence business and coordinated hacking campaigns between November 2014 and his arrest in September 2019.

He allegedly managed projects for paying clients, directing hacking groups, including one based in India, to target selected individuals and organisations.

The hackers used spearphishing emails designed to appear as though they originated from trusted sources, such as email providers and victims’ employers, to trick targets into surrendering their login credentials.

Those credentials were then allegedly used to access victims’ email accounts, social media profiles and online storage services.

The hackers supplied information obtained from the compromised accounts to Azari, who passed the stolen material to clients who had commissioned the intelligence-gathering operations.

Prosecutors said their investigation confirmed the successful hacking of more than 100 victims and identified approximately 200 additional targets. The wider operation was estimated to have targeted thousands of individuals and organisations worldwide.

The targets included government officials from various African countries, climate-change advocates, financial analysts, employees of the Bahamas gaming authority and members of a Mexican political party.

The memorandum did not identify Nigeria as one of the countries targeted or name any Nigerian government official as a victim.

DCI Group Faced Separate Allegations Over Climate Activists

DCI Group, the Washington-based public affairs and lobbying firm retained by the Tinubu administration under a reported $9 million contract, has previously faced allegations concerning a hacking operation targeting environmental activists and other critics of ExxonMobil.

In November 2024, Reuters reported that the FBI had investigated DCI Group over its alleged role in a hacking-and-leak operation targeting prominent critics of the oil company.

According to the Reuters investigation, more than 500 email accounts belonging to environmentalists and their allies were targeted between 2015 and 2018. The operation allegedly sought to undermine climate-change investigations and lawsuits involving ExxonMobil.

The hacking campaign involved stolen emails and documents from climate advocates, some of which were subsequently leaked to the press.

Articles based on the material appeared to undermine investigations by the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts into ExxonMobil’s knowledge of climate change and alleged misstatements climate-related risks.

Prosecutors said ExxonMobil subsequently relied on some of the resulting media reports in court filings while challenging the investigations.

The US government’s sentencing memorandum described how the stolen information was used but did not identify the clients who commissioned Azari’s hacking projects.

Separate reporting by Reuters linked DCI Group to the investigation, while the firm denied involvement in hacking or unlawfully obtaining information.

In a statement reported by Reuters in December 2024, DCI said it had “not been involved in nor commissioned others to hack or to obtain information unlawfully.”

ExxonMobil also denied involvement in the espionage campaign, saying it condemned hacking if any had occurred.

The allegations against DCI Group therefore remain distinct from the criminal case against Azari, who pleaded guilty to hacking-related offences. Azari’s conviction does not establish that DCI Group commissioned the hacking or that the Nigerian government had any role in it.

Tinubu Administration’s $9m Lobbying Contract

The allegations have drawn renewed attention to DCI Group because of its subsequent engagement by the Nigerian government.

In January 2026, reports based on documents filed with the US Department of Justice disclosed that the Tinubu administration had retained DCI Group under a lobbying agreement reportedly worth $9 million.

The arrangement was facilitated through Aster Legal, a Kaduna-based law firm acting on behalf of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

Under the agreement, DCI Group was hired to help communicate the Nigerian government’s efforts to protect Christian communities and maintain US support for counterterrorism operations against jihadist groups in West Africa.

The contract provided for a monthly retainer of $750,000, with an initial six-month term valued at $4.5 million and a provision that could extend the total contract value to $9 million. Reports on the agreement said the initial $4.5 million payment had been made in December 2025.

The lobbying arrangement is separate from the earlier hacking operation, which prosecutors said ran from November 2014 until September 2019.

No evidence in the materials reviewed establishes that the Nigerian government’s contract with DCI Group was connected to the hacking campaign against climate advocates or the broader operation that targeted African government officials.

Azari Sentenced To 80 Months In Prison

Azari pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy to commit computer hacking, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

On November 16, 2023, he was sentenced to 80 months in prison. The court also ordered the forfeiture of $4,844,968 linked to the operation.

The US Department of Justice said Azari had played a major role in organising and facilitating an international hacking-for-hire campaign that generated more than $4.8 million in proceeds over nearly five years.

Although Azari’s conviction established his criminal involvement in the hacking operation, questions who commissioned particular projects, and whether other individuals or organisations were involved, have continued to attract scrutiny.

The separate allegations concerning DCI Group have also prompted calls in the United States for further investigation into the hacking of climate-change advocates.