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President Bola Tinubu has filed a challenge in a United States court seeking to prevent the release of records linked to alleged drug trafficking investigations involving him.
The documents are being sought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against several US government agencies, including the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Greenspan is seeking, among other records, the FBI’s complete file on Tinubu and FBI Form 302 interview records relating to the period between 1992 and 1993.
The case also concerns records connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the United States involving approximately $460,000 allegedly linked to Tinubu.
Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
In a 16-page court filing dated August 28, 2026, Tinubu’s legal team argued that releasing the requested records would violate his privacy rights.
The legal team, comprising Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi, asked the court to uphold the redactions and withholdings made by the FBI and DEA.
According to the filing, previous disclosures relating to the civil forfeiture case did not amount to the public release of details of any criminal investigation involving Tinubu.
The lawyers argued that Greenspan was seeking information precisely because the details were not already in the public domain.
They maintained that limited information disclosed during the forfeiture proceedings did not erase Tinubu’s privacy interests in other undisclosed records.
The legal team cited previous court decisions to support its argument that an individual could retain privacy rights over the contents of investigative files even where some information had previously become public.
It further argued that being publicly associated with an investigation was different from allowing unrestricted access to the details contained in government investigative records.
“Regardless of the prior disclosure in the forfeiture proceeding, Intervenor retains a privacy interest in potential disclosure of the investigative files sought by Plaintiff,” the filing stated.
Tinubu’s lawyers also accused Greenspan of focusing primarily on obtaining documents containing the President’s name.
They argued that the plaintiff should not be allowed to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information about a private individual that would otherwise be protected under privacy exemptions.
The legal team urged the court to reject Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and allow the FBI and DEA to maintain the redactions and withholdings already applied to the requested documents.
“For all the foregoing reasons, Intervenor requests that the Court deny Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and allow the redactions or withholdings made by the FBI and DEA to stand,” the lawyers said.
The legal battle is part of Greenspan’s ongoing FOIA suit seeking the release of US government records relating to investigations involving Tinubu.
