The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court to allow it to submit a confidential declaration explaining why it withheld some records linked to allegations of drug trafficking involving President Bola Tinubu.
The FBI made the request in an application dated August 20 and filed before the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
FBI Seeks Private Explanation From Court
The FBI said it could not disclose all the reasons for withholding some of the records in a public filing. It has therefore asked the court to allow it to explain its position privately to the judge. An ex parte in camera declaration is a written submission that an agency makes privately to a judge. The court keeps the document off the public record.
The Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York published the application on X. Former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar recently hired the firm.
Why The FBI Wants To Withhold Some Records
According to the FBI, Aaron Greenspan, founder of the American website PlainSite, requested the records under the Freedom of Information Act. One request sought the FBI’s entire file on Tinubu. Another sought FBI interview records involving him from a case dating to 1992 and 1993.
The agency cited several FOIA exemptions in withholding the records. These include provisions that protect personal privacy, confidential sources and law-enforcement techniques. The exemptions also cover information that could endanger an individual’s life or physical safety if disclosed.
The FBI said it could not publicly explain the full reasons for relying on exemptions 7(E) and 7(F). It therefore asked the court to allow it to file a declaration under seal. If the court grants the request, the FBI said it will submit the declaration before August 28.
How The Tinubu Records Case Started
The latest application is part of a long-running legal battle over records Greenspan requested from US government agencies. The records relate to criminal investigations into a Chicago-based heroin network that operated in the early 1990s. Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests with six federal agencies. He sought records concerning four individuals he said had links to the investigation.
The individuals included Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele. Five of the agencies issued what is known as a Glomar response. Under this response, an agency declines to confirm or deny whether the requested records exist.
Greenspan challenged the responses through the US Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy. He later filed a lawsuit in June 2023. The lawsuit initially named the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Executive Office for United States Attorneys and Department of State as defendants. The plaintiff later added the CIA to the case.
Court Previously Rejected FBI And DEA Responses
In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA had improperly issued Glomar responses. She ordered the agencies to lift the responses. Howell said the agencies had failed to show that a recognisable privacy interest justified concealing the fact that Tinubu had been a subject of a criminal investigation. However, the latest FBI application shows that the dispute over the records remains unresolved.
The US Department of Justice recently asked for an additional 10 days to respond to a court order concerning the documents. Howell granted only four extra days and set August 21 as the deadline. Tinubu’s legal team later joined the DOJ’s request for another 10-day extension. However, the judge reportedly rejected the request.
The FBI has now asked the court for permission to privately explain why it believes some of the records should remain withheld. The allegations contained in the records and the ongoing court proceedings do not, by themselves, establish that Tinubu committed the alleged offences.
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