Tinubu Asks U.S. Court to Keep FBI, DEA Records Under Wraps

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked a United States federal court to reject a request for the release of additional unredacted records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), arguing that the documents concern his private life before he entered politics and are protected by U.S. privacy laws.

Tinubu intervened in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by U.S. transparency activist Aaron Greenspan. In a filing dated August 28, 2026, his lawyers asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to deny Greenspan’s request for summary judgment and allow the FBI and DEA to maintain existing redactions and withholdings.

Tinubu Says Records Concern His Private Life

Tinubu’s legal team argued that FOIA is primarily designed to provide information about the activities of government agencies, rather than expose private information about individuals contained in government law-enforcement files.

The lawyers relied on FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects personal information in law-enforcement records where disclosure could constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. They also cited the U.S. Privacy Act and argued that Tinubu’s position as Nigeria’s president does not automatically remove his privacy rights under American law.

The filing further argued that previous public disclosures about Tinubu’s past do not eliminate his privacy interests in information that remains contained in undisclosed investigative files. His lawyers also rejected the argument that the public’s interest in Tinubu’s political career or background necessarily constitutes the type of public interest recognised under FOIA.

FBI and DEA Records Remain at the Centre of Dispute

The case began after Greenspan submitted FOIA requests seeking records relating to investigations involving Tinubu and other individuals. The requests included FBI interview records from the early 1990s and records connected to a Chicago drug-trafficking investigation.

In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could not simply refuse to confirm or deny whether records concerning Tinubu existed. The agencies were subsequently required to search for and process records that were not exempt from disclosure. The FBI and DEA have since released 399 pages, although portions remain redacted under various exemptions in U.S. law.

The agencies have cited protections involving grand-jury information, confidential sources, investigative techniques, personal privacy and other law-enforcement material. The FBI has also submitted additional records to the judge under seal for private judicial review rather than releasing them publicly. The dispute now centres on whether the FBI and DEA can legally continue withholding or redacting portions of the records sought by Greenspan. Tinubu’s lawyers are asking the court to preserve the protections, while Greenspan is seeking wider disclosure.

The proceedings are a civil FOIA dispute over access to government records. The fact that records are being withheld or redacted does not, by itself, establish criminal liability, and the court has not convicted Tinubu of any criminal offence in this case. The final decision on the disputed records remains with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. OGM News will continue to monitor the court proceedings and report further developments as they emerge.