The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., for permission to keep certain records connected to an old investigation involving President Bola Tinubu from public disclosure.
The request was made in a motion filed before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where the FBI asked to provide the judge with additional justification for withholding parts of the records privately.
According to the filing, the FBI wants to submit the additional information “ex parte and in camera”, meaning the material would be presented directly to the judge and kept away from the public.
The agency argued that publicly disclosing the full explanation could defeat the purpose of the exemptions it is relying on under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The FBI said some of the withheld information could reveal “investigative procedures and techniques” used by law-enforcement agencies, while other material could potentially expose individuals to threats to their physical safety.
The dispute arose from FOIA requests seeking FBI records relating to Tinubu, including interview reports known as Form 302s connected to an FBI investigation from 1992 and 1993.
One of the requests sought the FBI’s complete file concerning the Nigerian president, while another specifically requested the Form 302 interview reports.
The FBI said it had invoked several FOIA exemptions to justify withholding portions of the records. These exemptions cover issues including personal privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques and information that could endanger individuals.
In particular, the bureau cited Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F), which relate to law-enforcement techniques and information that could reasonably be expected to endanger someone’s life or physical safety.
The FBI told the court that its public filings could not fully explain the basis for applying those exemptions without potentially revealing the very information it was seeking to protect.
It therefore asked for permission to submit a sealed declaration containing its fuller justification.
The latest development was publicised on X by Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, which was recently retained by African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
The case was initiated by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, who has been seeking US government records connected to a Chicago-based heroin trafficking investigation dating back to the early 1990s.
Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests to six federal agencies concerning four individuals, including Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele.
Several agencies initially declined to confirm whether they possessed responsive records, relying on what is known under US law as a “Glomar response.”
Greenspan challenged those decisions and subsequently went to court after the Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy upheld the agencies’ positions.
US District Judge Beryl Howell later ruled against the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration’s continued reliance on the Glomar response, finding that the agencies had not sufficiently established a legal basis for refusing to confirm whether records concerning Tinubu existed.
The latest application is therefore part of an ongoing legal dispute over the disclosure of the records.
The Justice Department had previously requested additional time to respond to a court order, but Judge Howell granted only a partial extension. Tinubu’s legal team subsequently joined the request for more time.
The FBI is now asking the court to allow it to provide its fuller justification behind closed doors, particularly regarding records it says could reveal sensitive investigative methods or place individuals at risk.
The court’s decision on whether to accept the FBI’s confidential submission will determine the next stage of the dispute over the release of the Tinubu-linked records.
