Four Reasons US Shouldn’t Release My FBI Records

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked a United States federal court to reject efforts seeking the release of his unredacted records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

In legal filings submitted to the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Tinubu’s lawyers presented four major arguments against the disclosure of the records. The case has reignited public debate in Nigeria over the President’s past dealings in the United States.

1. US Privacy Laws Protect the Records

Tinubu’s legal team argued that the requested documents are protected by the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act.

The lawyers specifically relied on FOIA Exemption 7(C), which provides protection for personal information contained in law-enforcement records. They argued that releasing the documents could improperly expose private information about Tinubu.

2. No Recognised Public Interest

The President’s lawyers also rejected the argument that Nigerians' interest in Tinubu's background automatically constitutes a public interest recognised under US FOIA law.

They argued that FOIA is primarily designed to provide information about what the US government is doing, rather than to provide the public with personal records about individuals contained in government files.

The legal team also disputed the argument that Tinubu's fitness to serve as Nigeria's President creates a special public-interest justification under US law.

3. The Request Is Politically Motivated

Tinubu's lawyers accused transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who requested the records, of pursuing information for political purposes in Nigeria.

According to the legal filing, the lawyers argued that Greenspan's submissions demonstrated an overriding interest in obtaining documents containing Tinubu's name rather than investigating alleged misconduct by US government agencies.

They urged the court not to allow the FOIA process to become a tool for obtaining personal information about a foreign political figure.

4. Claims of Secret Prosecution Are Unsubstantiated

The President's legal team also rejected suggestions that the FBI records could reveal a secret prosecution or an agreement by US authorities not to prosecute Tinubu.

The lawyers described such claims as speculative and unsupported by evidence, arguing that the person seeking the documents had not provided sufficient evidence of alleged government wrongdoing to overcome the applicable protections.

Why the FBI Records Matter

The dispute has its roots in a long-running controversy concerning Tinubu's history in the United States.

The controversy intensified during the build-up to Nigeria's 2023 presidential election following the emergence of records concerning a 1993 US civil forfeiture proceeding. A US court in Illinois ordered the forfeiture of $460,000 held in an account associated with Tinubu after US authorities alleged that the money represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or was connected to prohibited financial transactions.

Tinubu's party maintained that the matter was a civil forfeiture proceeding rather than a criminal conviction. In September 2023, Nigeria's Presidential Election Petition Court held that the petitioners had not established that Tinubu had been arrested, arraigned, convicted or sentenced in a criminal case in the United States.

The current FOIA dispute, however, concerns access to US government records and does not itself amount to a criminal prosecution or a finding that Tinubu committed a drug-trafficking offence.

Court Previously Ordered FBI and DEA to Process Records

The legal battle took another major step in April 2025 when US District Judge Beryl Howell ordered the FBI and DEA to lift their previous “Glomar” responses—where agencies refuse to confirm or deny whether particular records exist—and directed them to process responsive records subject to applicable exemptions.

The agencies have subsequently sought to withhold portions of the material, citing issues including law-enforcement information, privacy, investigative techniques and the safety of individuals.

Opposition Demands Full Disclosure

Political opponents have criticised Tinubu's attempt to prevent the release of the records.

The African Democratic Congress and Nigeria Democratic Congress argued that Nigerians have a legitimate interest in knowing the details of the President's past. ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi said Tinubu should allow the records to be released if he wants to clear his name.

The controversy is therefore likely to remain a major political issue as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections.

Bottom Line

Tinubu's legal position is essentially that the FBI and DEA records should remain protected because US privacy laws apply, there is no legally recognised public interest sufficient to override those protections, the request is politically motivated, and claims of hidden wrongdoing have not been substantiated.

Whether the US court accepts those arguments will determine how much of the requested material ultimately becomes public.

Source: PUNCH Newspapers, August 30, 2026.