The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., for permission to submit confidential declarations explaining why it withheld certain investigative records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The FBI said publicly disclosing the full basis for withholding some of the records could expose law enforcement techniques and potentially endanger the life or physical safety of individuals.
The application, dated August 20, 2026, was filed in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, who is seeking records relating to allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu.
The FBI is asking the US District Court for the District of Columbia to allow it to submit the declarations ex parte and in camera, meaning the documents would be presented privately to the judge and not made available to the other parties or the public.
According to the application, Greenspan submitted a FOIA request seeking the “entire FBI file” on Tinubu, as well as FBI Form 302 interview records involving him in a case covering the period between 1992 and 1993.
The FBI said it had invoked several exemptions under the US FOIA law, including exemptions 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F), to withhold portions of the requested records.
The agency said some of the exemptions protect information that could reveal law enforcement investigative techniques and procedures or information that could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual if disclosed.
“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 in its filing.
The FBI said that if the court grants its request, it would submit the confidential declaration explaining the basis for withholding the information before August 28.
FOIA battle over Tinubu records
Greenspan filed multiple FOIA requests in 2022 and 2023 with six US federal agencies seeking records from criminal investigations into a Chicago-based heroin trafficking ring that operated in the early 1990s.
He sought investigative records concerning four individuals allegedly linked to the investigation, including Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele.
Several US agencies initially issued what is known as a “Glomar response,” refusing to confirm or deny whether records relating to the individuals existed.
Dissatisfied with the responses, Greenspan challenged the agencies’ decisions before the US Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy before subsequently filing a lawsuit.
He instituted the case on June 12, 2023, challenging the agencies’ refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the requested records.
The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Executive Office for United States Attorneys and Department of State were initially named as defendants, while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was later added.
In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA’s Glomar responses were improper and ordered that they be lifted.
Howell held that the agencies had failed to establish a sufficient privacy interest capable of justifying secrecy over the fact that Tinubu had been a subject of a criminal investigation.
The judge also said the agencies had failed to provide adequate evidence to justify maintaining their refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the records.
The latest FBI filing, however, concerns specific records that the agency says remain exempt from disclosure under the FOIA.
The development comes amid a separate dispute over the release of records linked to the allegations.
The US Department of Justice recently sought an additional 10-day extension to respond to a court order concerning the records, but Judge Howell granted only four additional days, setting August 21 as the deadline.
Tinubu, through his legal team, subsequently joined the DOJ’s request for the 10-day extension, but the judge reportedly declined his request.
(The Whistler)