President Bola Tinubu has asked a United States court to block the release of government records linked to past allegations of drug trafficking involving him.
The records are being sought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against several US government agencies, including the Department of Justice, FBI and DEA.
Greenspan is seeking documents relating to investigations involving Tinubu, including the FBI’s complete file on him and FBI Form 302 interview records covering the period between 1992 and 1993.
His request also covers records connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture case in the US involving about $460,000 allegedly linked to Tinubu.
Tinubu, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed a legal challenge through his lawyers, Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi.
In court documents filed on August 28, Tinubu argued that releasing the records would violate his privacy rights, particularly by exposing details contained in government investigative files that have not previously been made public.
His lawyers maintained that the fact that some information relating to the forfeiture case had previously been disclosed did not remove Tinubu’s right to privacy over the contents of the wider investigative files.
They argued that individuals retain privacy interests in government records even when some information about them has already entered the public domain.
The legal team also urged the court to reject Greenspan’s request for summary judgment and allow the FBI and DEA to maintain existing redactions and withholdings under applicable privacy and law-enforcement exemptions.
“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 lawyers argued.
The case is pending before a US federal court, where Greenspan is challenging the agencies’ handling of his FOIA requests.
Tinubu’s intervention seeks to prevent the release of records bearing his name that his lawyers say should remain protected under the Privacy Act and relevant FOIA exemptions.
