Politics
FBI asks US court to privately review sensitive records in Tinubu
THE Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a United States federal court for permission to privately submit sensitive information concerning records linked to President Bola Tinubu as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.
The request was contained in a motion filed on August 20, 2026, before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in the case of Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al, according to an X post by Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York
The FBI, in the document attached and attributed to it, is seeking permission to file declarations ex parte and in camera in support of its renewed motion for summary judgment.
According to the filing, one of Greenspan’s FOIA requests sought the “entire FBI file” on Tinubu, while another requested FBI Form 302 interview records involving Tinubu from FBI Case No. 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU covering the period between 1992 and 1993.
The FBI said it had invoked several FOIA exemptions, including Exemptions 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F), to withhold information responsive to the requests.
The agency said some of the withheld material relates to law-enforcement techniques and procedures and that disclosure of some information “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”
The FBI said it could not disclose the full basis for invoking Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) publicly because doing so could compromise the secrecy it is seeking to protect.
It therefore asked the court to allow it to submit declarations under seal and privately so that Judge Howell could assess whether the exemptions were properly applied.
The FBI said it would provide the declarations to the court by August 28, subject to approval of its request.
The filing also stated that Greenspan opposed the FBI’s request after both parties conferred on August 19.
Case involves records on Tinubu
The latest development is part of a FOIA lawsuit filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan in 2023 against the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and other US government agencies.
The case concerns records relating to historical US investigations involving Tinubu, including requests to the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The records sought by Greenspan include documents connected to a historical investigation dating to the late 1980s and early 1990s and a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving funds linked to Tinubu.
Tinubu has denied wrongdoing. The ICIR reports that the historical US proceedings resulted in civil forfeiture rather than a criminal conviction against him.
Tinubu joined request for delay
The latest FBI filing follows a separate development reported by The ICIR on August 19, when the lobbying firm engaged by the Nigerian former vice president said Tinubu had formally joined the US Department of Justice’s request for additional time to release records concerning the allegations.
Von Batten-Montague-York said it had obtained a copy of a filing submitted by Tinubu in the case and alleged that the Nigerian president supported the DOJ’s request for a 10-day extension.
The firm said Judge Howell rejected the full 10-day request but granted four additional days, moving the deadline for the release of the records to August 21.
The lobbyists alleged that Tinubu was seeking to use the delay to lobby officials in Washington against the release of the records, including by arguing that publication could affect US-Nigeria relations.
However, the firm’s claims about Tinubu’s alleged intentions were presented as an inference and were not established by the court filing.
The ICIR reported that the case was filed by Greenspan and that the litigation seeks records from US agencies concerning historical investigations involving the Nigerian president.
Lobbyists link latest filing to Tinubu
Von Batten-Montague-York drew attention to the FBI’s latest motion in an August 21 post on X, claiming that the reference to information that could endanger someone’s life or physical safety showed that Tinubu was concerned about his safety if the records were released.
Although the FBI filing does not identify Tinubu as the individual whose life or physical safety could allegedly be endangered, the reference appears in the FBI’s explanation for its reliance on FOIA Exemption 7(F), which protects information whose disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.
