FBI Asks The U.S. Court To Keep President Tinubu’s Drug Probe Records Secret, Seeks Sealed Filing

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a United States court for permission to privately submit a confidential declaration explaining why it is withholding some records related to allegations linking Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to a drug-trafficking investigation conducted in the early 1990s.

The request, filed on August 20 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, comes as the agency faces a court-ordered deadline to justify its decision to withhold portions of documents sought under the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

In the application, the FBI said it could not publicly disclose the full basis for withholding certain information and requested leave to file an ex parte, in camera declaration, a submission made privately to a judge and kept off the public record.

The application was published on Thursday on X by Von Batten-Montague-York, a Washington-based lobbying firm recently engaged by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The FBI said it invoked several exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act in response to requests seeking records relating to Tinubu between 1992 and 1993.

According to the agency, releasing the withheld information could expose sensitive investigative methods and pose risks to individuals’ safety.

The filing states, “The FBI has invoked various Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemptions, including 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F) regarding these requests, and determined the information withheld from Plaintiff in this case, if disclosed, would, among other things, disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations and/or could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.”

The FBI further argued that it could not explain the application of some exemptions on the public record.

“The FBI has determined that it cannot provide on the public record the full basis for the application of Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) to certain withholdings and that, therefore, an ex parte, under seal declaration is necessary.”

The agency asked the court to allow it to submit the confidential declaration by August 28 if its request is granted.

The lawsuit was filed by Aaron Greenspan, an American businessman and founder of PlainSite, who has sought access to U.S. government records concerning a Chicago heroin trafficking investigation from the early 1990s.

Court documents show that one of Greenspan’s FOIA requests, identified as Request Number 1588244-000, sought:

“The entire FBI file for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, DOB 3/29/1952, President-Elect of Nigeria as of February 2023.

Greenspan also submitted a second request; Request Number 1593615-000 — seeking “FBI 302 interviews with Bola Tinubu from FBI Case No. 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU during the timeframe 1992-1993.”

The latest filing follows an earlier request by the U.S. Department of Justice for a 10-day extension to comply with a court order regarding the release of records connected to the case.

However, District Judge Beryl Howell granted only a four-day extension, shifting the deadline to August 21.

Tinubu, through his legal team, joined the DOJ’s request for an additional 10-day extension, but Judge Howell declined the application.

Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests with six US federal agencies seeking records from investigations into a Chicago-based heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s.

The requests sought records relating to four individuals Greenspan alleged were connected to the investigation: Bola Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Adegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele.

Five federal agencies responded with what is known as a Glomar response, refusing to confirm or deny whether the requested records existed.

After the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy upheld those responses, Greenspan filed a lawsuit on June 12, 2023, challenging the agencies’ refusal.

The defendants in the case initially included the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Executive Office for United States Attorneys and the Department of State. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was later added to the suit.

In April 2025, Judge Howell ruled that the Glomar responses issued by the FBI and DEA were “improper and must be lifted.”

The judge held that both agencies failed to demonstrate a sufficient privacy interest to justify refusing to acknowledge whether Tinubu had been the subject of a criminal investigation.

Howell also ruled that the FBI and DEA did not provide adequate evidence to support maintaining their Glomar responses, paving the way for further proceedings over the release of the requested records.