The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a US court to allow it to keep some records concerning an old investigation linked to President Bola Tinubu from public disclosure, citing the need to protect law-enforcement methods and the safety of individuals.
The request was contained in a motion filed at the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where the FBI asked to privately provide the judge with additional details supporting its decision to withhold parts of the records.
The agency wants to submit the explanation ex parte and in camera, meaning the material would be presented directly to the judge without being made available as part of the public court record. The FBI argued that a public explanation would itself risk revealing information that it is seeking to protect.
It said some of the withheld material could disclose investigative procedures and techniques used by law-enforcement authorities, while other information could expose people to threats to their physical safety.
The filing was publicised on X by Von Batten-Montague-York, a Washington-based lobbying firm recently retained by African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
The dispute stems from two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted for FBI records connected to Tinubu. One request sought the bureau’s complete file on the Nigerian president, while another sought interview reports known as Form 302s relating to an FBI case from 1992 and 1993.
The FBI said it had applied several exemptions under FOIA law to portions of the material, including provisions designed to protect personal privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques, and information that could threaten an individual’s safety.
The agency told the court that its public filings could not adequately set out the full justification for relying on Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F). It therefore wants to supplement its public submission with a sealed declaration that would allow the judge to examine the sensitive reasoning directly.
If the court approves the request, the FBI said it intends to submit the confidential declaration. The case was brought by Aaron Greenspan, the founder of PlainSite, who has sought government documents relating to a Chicago-based heroin trafficking investigation dating back to the early 1990s.
Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests to six federal agencies between 2022 and 2023, seeking records involving four people, including Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Several agencies initially refused to confirm whether responsive records existed, a position commonly described in US law as a Glomar response. Greenspan challenged the decisions and later sued after the Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy upheld the agencies’ positions.
Judge Beryl Howell previously ruled against the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration’s continued use of the Glomar response, finding that the agencies had not demonstrated a sufficient legal basis for concealing whether records concerning Tinubu existed.
The latest FBI application comes amid an ongoing dispute over the release of the records. The Justice Department had sought an extension to respond to a court order, but Judge Howell granted only a partial extension.
Tinubu’s legal team subsequently joined the request for additional time. The FBI is now seeking to give the court, behind closed doors, its fuller justification for retaining portions of the records, particularly information it says could expose sensitive investigative practices or endanger individuals.
