The United States district court for the district of Columbia has declined a motion at the instance of Aaron Greenspan seeking limited discovery from Nigerian President, Bola Tinubu and DCI group in ongoing litigation under the freedom of information act (FOIA).
In a ruling, the court determined that the proposed discovery concerning alleged cyberattacks on greenspan’s website was not sufficiently relevant to the underlying FOIA dispute involving the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) and drug enforcement administration (DEA).
The court averred that that the freedom of information act proceeding cannot be used to pursue discovery unrelated to the legal questions before it, An experienced appellate advocate Christopher W. Carmichael says going by the court’s turning down the request for discovery against President Tinubu and DCI group, the judiciary has reinforced the importance of keeping the litigants focused on the issues properly before it.
The court equally denied a separate motion by non party Karl Von Batten seeking permission to file an amicus curiae brief, as well as greenspan’s related request for judicial notice.
Another defence counsel in the matter Oluwole Afolabi says the court’s rejection of the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and the introduction of an amicus brief is for the court to focus issues before it.
These rulings have established important procedural boundaries and clarified which matters are appropriate for consideration in the case.
