TINUBU’S US FILES: FBI Seeks Secret Court Disclosure, Cites ‘Risk to Life’
The FBI is seeking leave to submit an ex parte, in-camera and under-seal declaration to the judge. Such a filing would allow the agency to explain confidentially, outside the public record, the full basis for withholding some of the information.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., for permission to privately explain why it has withheld portions of records sought in connection with longstanding investigations involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The request was contained in an application dated August 20, 2026, filed before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Aaron Greenspan, founder of the legal transparency website PlainSite.
The FBI is seeking leave to submit an ex parte, in-camera and under-seal declaration to the judge. Such a filing would allow the agency to explain confidentially, outside the public record, the full basis for withholding some of the information.
According to the FBI, it cannot publicly disclose all the reasons behind its reliance on certain FOIA exemptions because doing so could itself reveal sensitive law-enforcement information.
The agency specifically cited FOIA Exemptions 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F) in dealing with the records requested by Greenspan.
The FBI said information withheld under the exemptions could, among other things, reveal law-enforcement investigative techniques and procedures or “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”
The agency said it could not provide on the public record the full basis for its reliance on Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) for certain withheld material.
It therefore asked the court for permission to make a confidential submission explaining the reasons to the judge.
“If the court grants the permission,” the FBI said it would provide the additional explanation before August 28, 2026.
Two FBI requests at centre of dispute
The application identifies two FBI FOIA requests.
The first, Request No. 1588244-000, sought the entire FBI file for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, identified in the request as Nigeria’s President-Elect at the time the request was made.
The second, Request No. 1593615-000, sought FBI Form 302 interview records involving Tinubu from FBI Case No. 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU during the period covering 1992 and 1993.
The records form part of Greenspan’s broader effort to obtain government documents relating to investigations dating to the early 1990s.
The latest FBI application does not, however, say that disclosure of every record concerning Tinubu would endanger lives. Rather, the agency says disclosure of information covered by particular exemptions could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.
That distinction is significant because the FBI’s confidential explanation has not yet been presented publicly.
Long-running FOIA battle
The latest filing is the newest development in a years-long legal battle over access to records held by U.S. government agencies.
Greenspan filed multiple FOIA requests seeking records relating to investigations from the early 1990s. The requests have involved several U.S. agencies, including the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In April 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the FBI and DEA to search for and produce non-exempt, reasonably segregable portions of records responsive to Greenspan’s requests. The agencies subsequently sought additional time to complete their searches and production.
The litigation has attracted considerable attention in Nigeria because some of the requested records concern Tinubu and events dating to his years in the United States.
However, the existence of records, an FBI investigation, or allegations contained in investigative material does not by itself establish criminal guilt.
There is also no indication in the latest FBI application that Tinubu has been convicted of drug trafficking based on the records at issue.
Tinubu not accused in latest FBI filing
The latest application is principally a dispute over FOIA disclosure and the government’s right to withhold certain information, rather than a criminal proceeding against the Nigerian president.
The FBI is asking the court to allow it to explain privately why particular information should remain withheld.
The court will determine whether to permit the confidential filing and ultimately whether the agency’s withholding of the disputed information complies with the Freedom of Information Act.
The development comes as the long-running controversy over U.S. records relating to Tinubu’s past continues to attract political interest in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The latest application, however, should not be interpreted as a new criminal charge, indictment or finding of guilt against Tinubu.”
