The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked a federal court to allow it to privately explain why some records linked to President Bola Tinubu remain withheld.
The request comes in a long-running Freedom of Information Act case involving records from US investigations dating back to the 1990s. The FBI filed its application on August 20 before the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
The agency is seeking permission to submit an ex parte, in camera declaration, meaning a written explanation that would be reviewed privately by the judge rather than placed on the public record.
According to the FBI, it cannot fully explain in public why certain information has been withheld because doing so could expose law-enforcement methods and potentially put individuals at risk.
The agency said disclosure of some of the information could “disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations” and could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.
Records date back to 1992 and 1993
The dispute centres on two FBI Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite.
One request sought the FBI’s entire file relating to Tinubu, while another sought FBI Form 302 interview records involving Tinubu from an FBI case covering the 1992–1993 period. Court records confirm the two requests were assigned numbers 1588244-000 and 1593615-000.
The FBI initially refused to confirm or deny whether the requested records existed, relying on privacy-related FOIA exemptions.
However, Judge Beryl Howell ruled in April 2025 that the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration could no longer rely on that approach for the disputed Tinubu records.
The judge directed the agencies to search for and produce non-exempt records responsive to Greenspan’s requests.
FBI cites FOIA exemptions
The latest application refers to several FOIA exemptions, including Sections 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F).
The FBI says exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) are particularly relevant to information it believes cannot be adequately explained in an open filing.
Exemption 7(E) concerns law-enforcement techniques and procedures, while 7(F) covers information that could reasonably be expected to endanger someone’s life or physical safety.
The FBI is asking the judge to review its fuller explanation privately and under seal.
If the court grants the request, the agency says it would submit the confidential declaration before August 28.
Tinubu’s name remains at the centre of dispute
The records controversy concerns historical allegations surrounding Tinubu and investigations conducted by US law-enforcement agencies in the 1990s.
Tinubu has not been convicted of drug trafficking in the United States. The legal proceedings have included a 1993 civil forfeiture involving $460,000, but that proceeding was civil rather than a criminal conviction.
Tinubu has also joined a previous request by the US Justice Department for additional time to respond to the court’s orders concerning the records.
Judge Howell declined to grant the full extension requested at that stage and set August 21 as the deadline for the government’s response.
The latest FBI application adds another layer to the dispute, as the court must now decide whether the agency has provided sufficient grounds for keeping portions of the records confidential.
The case is being closely watched in Nigeria because any eventual disclosure could provide further information about the US investigations involving Tinubu before he became Nigeria’s president.
However, the FBI’s latest filing does not by itself establish that the withheld records contain evidence of wrongdoing by Tinubu. It only sets out the agency’s argument that some information should remain protected from public disclosure.
