A federal judge in the United States has rejected a request for the expedited release of President Bola Tinubu’s confidential records.
The records, compiled by American law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), were requested by Aaron Greenspan, a transparency activist, in collaboration with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin.
In his motion, Greenspan urged Judge Beryl Howell to promptly order the FBI, State Department, and other U.S. bodies to immediately provide the records, which they had scheduled for release before the end of October.
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However, Judge Howell denied Greenspan’s motion, ruling that he had not sufficiently justified his request for an urgent hearing.
“Plaintiff’s emergency motion for a hearing to compel immediate document production is denied,” Judge Howell stated.
She also acknowledged that the records could be of a highly sensitive and private nature, and President Tinubu had not had the opportunity to protect his privacy interests in them.
The judge also approved President Tinubu’s request to allow his lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, to appear in the case, although she has not yet ruled on the president’s motion to intervene in the matter.
The U.S. Department of Justice, represented by Matthew Graves, stated that the government would not take a position on whether President Tinubu should join the case.
In September, the FBI announced its intention to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and release Tinubu’s records in batches of 500 pages beginning in October. However, on Monday, Tinubu filed a motion to block the release of his records.
Tinubu’s motion argues that he has a “direct interest” in the records sought and that his interests are not “fully represented or protected” by the defendants in the case. The motion also contends that Tinubu’s interests will be “adversely affected” if he is not allowed to intervene.
President Tinubu had taken similar action when his main political opponent, Atiku Abubakar, sought his educational records from Chicago State University. The Nigerian leader opposed the release of this information, but his efforts were unsuccessful as the documents were eventually disclosed to Atiku. In addition to facing allegations related to drug dealings and presenting forged certificates to Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, Tinubu is also accused of holding Guinean citizenship, among other allegations
Bola Tinubu Files Objection to FOIA Release of FBI Files in U.S. District Court
