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Tinubu Fights US Court Bid to Unseal FBI, DEA Records on Him
(MENAFN) Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has petitioned a US federal court to block the release of law enforcement records tied to historical investigations involving him, according to court filings and his legal team.
Tinubu's lawyers—Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi—argued the records should stay redacted or withheld entirely. The president's team submitted a 16-page brief to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, pushing back against a request from transparency activist Aaron Greenspan to compel release of records held by the US Department of Justice, FBI and DEA.
Greenspan filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against multiple federal agencies in 2023 seeking documents connected to past investigations of Tinubu. The materials sought include the FBI's complete file on the Nigerian leader and Form 302 interview records spanning 1992 to 1993, along with records tied to a 1993 US civil forfeiture case involving roughly $460,000 linked to Tinubu, who has denied any wrongdoing.
In their newest filing, Tinubu's attorneys contended that releasing the records would infringe on his privacy rights, arguing that partial disclosures made during an earlier forfeiture proceeding did not amount to public release of details or outcomes tied to any alleged criminal probe. They asked the court to reject Greenspan's motion for summary judgment and let the FBI and DEA continue withholding or redacting the material.
The filing marks the latest chapter in Greenspan's protracted legal campaign to pry loose US government records on Tinubu, a fight rooted in FOIA requests filed in 2022 and 2023 covering an investigation dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could no longer invoke so-called "Glomar" responses—refusing to confirm or deny that requested records even exist—and ordered the agencies to process non-exempt materials tied to Greenspan's requests. That ruling did not establish that Tinubu committed any drug-trafficking offense, nor did it constitute a criminal conviction; it addressed only the agencies' FOIA obligations and whether the records could lawfully be withheld.
Earlier this month, the FBI asked the court for permission to submit sensitive material privately and under seal to justify withholding portions of the requested files, citing FOIA exemptions covering privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques, and information that could endanger someone's life or physical safety if disclosed.
Media previously reported that Tinubu had joined a US Justice Department request for more time to respond to the court's orders on the records, though Judge Howell declined to grant the full extension sought. Anadolu also reported on Aug. 19 that the court had set a deadline for both the government and Tinubu to respond.
The latest filing puts Tinubu squarely at the center of the dispute over whether additional records from the historical investigations will ultimately see the light of day. The court must now decide whether the FBI and DEA can keep their redactions in place or whether further records sought by Greenspan must be turned over.
Tinubu's lawyers—Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi—argued the records should stay redacted or withheld entirely. The president's team submitted a 16-page brief to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, pushing back against a request from transparency activist Aaron Greenspan to compel release of records held by the US Department of Justice, FBI and DEA.
Greenspan filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against multiple federal agencies in 2023 seeking documents connected to past investigations of Tinubu. The materials sought include the FBI's complete file on the Nigerian leader and Form 302 interview records spanning 1992 to 1993, along with records tied to a 1993 US civil forfeiture case involving roughly $460,000 linked to Tinubu, who has denied any wrongdoing.
In their newest filing, Tinubu's attorneys contended that releasing the records would infringe on his privacy rights, arguing that partial disclosures made during an earlier forfeiture proceeding did not amount to public release of details or outcomes tied to any alleged criminal probe. They asked the court to reject Greenspan's motion for summary judgment and let the FBI and DEA continue withholding or redacting the material.
The filing marks the latest chapter in Greenspan's protracted legal campaign to pry loose US government records on Tinubu, a fight rooted in FOIA requests filed in 2022 and 2023 covering an investigation dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could no longer invoke so-called "Glomar" responses—refusing to confirm or deny that requested records even exist—and ordered the agencies to process non-exempt materials tied to Greenspan's requests. That ruling did not establish that Tinubu committed any drug-trafficking offense, nor did it constitute a criminal conviction; it addressed only the agencies' FOIA obligations and whether the records could lawfully be withheld.
Earlier this month, the FBI asked the court for permission to submit sensitive material privately and under seal to justify withholding portions of the requested files, citing FOIA exemptions covering privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques, and information that could endanger someone's life or physical safety if disclosed.
Media previously reported that Tinubu had joined a US Justice Department request for more time to respond to the court's orders on the records, though Judge Howell declined to grant the full extension sought. Anadolu also reported on Aug. 19 that the court had set a deadline for both the government and Tinubu to respond.
The latest filing puts Tinubu squarely at the center of the dispute over whether additional records from the historical investigations will ultimately see the light of day. The court must now decide whether the FBI and DEA can keep their redactions in place or whether further records sought by Greenspan must be turned over.
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