ABUJA — The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that publicly releasing some records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could endanger the lives or physical safety of individuals, prompting the agency to seek permission to explain its position privately to a US federal court.
The development was contained in an application filed by the FBI before the US District Court for the District of Columbia on August 20, according to the report provided. The agency is asking the court to allow it to submit a confidential declaration explaining why some of the records were withheld.
The FBI said it could not publicly disclose the full basis for withholding certain information because doing so could expose sensitive law-enforcement techniques and procedures.
It is seeking permission to submit an ex parte, in camera declaration, meaning the explanation would be presented privately to the judge and kept under seal.
The records are being sought by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests covering records relating to Tinubu from 1992 and 1993.
Among the materials requested are Tinubu’s entire FBI file and interview records connected to an FBI investigation.
In its application, the FBI said it had relied on several FOIA exemptions covering areas including personal privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques and information that could endanger an individual.
“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 said.
The FBI said it would submit the confidential declaration before August 28 if the court grants its request.
The latest development is part of a prolonged legal dispute over requests for US government records concerning allegations linked to Tinubu and a Chicago drug investigation dating to the early 1990s.
The case followed multiple FOIA requests filed by Greenspan with six US federal agencies. The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies initially declined to confirm or deny whether some of the requested records existed.
However, in April 2025, Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA had not sufficiently justified their refusal to confirm or deny the existence of records concerning Tinubu and ordered the agencies to lift their so-called “Glomar” responses.
The latest FBI application comes as the US Department of Justice continues to respond to court orders relating to the records.
Tinubu’s legal team had also sought additional time to respond in the matter, but Judge Howell reportedly declined the request for a 10-day extension.
