The FBI has told a US federal court that releasing records linked to President Bola Tinubu could expose agents and informants to retaliation and physical danger. The bureau filed its warning in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who is seeking historical records connected to Tinubu from the early 1990s.
The FBI's court filing
In its submission to the District Court for the District of Columbia, the FBI said it had withheld portions of the requested material under several exemptions in the US Freedom of Information Act. One of them, Exemption 7(F), permits the withholding of law-enforcement records when disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger an individual's life or physical safety. The bureau also cited exemptions covering personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.
The FBI said releasing some of the information could expose individuals who participated in or assisted the investigation to retaliation. People whose names or identifying information appear in the records could be seen as having provided information or taken part in the investigation, the bureau argued, which could make them targets of people connected to the criminal activities under scrutiny. Releasing that identifying information could therefore "endanger their lives or physical safety," the FBI told the court.
The agency added that it could not publicly provide the full explanation for its reliance on Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F). Doing so could itself reveal the sensitive information it was trying to protect, the FBI said. It asked to give the fuller explanation to the judge privately and under seal.
What Greenspan is seeking
Greenspan's requests target law-enforcement records connected to Tinubu and an alleged drug-trafficking investigation from the early 1990s. One request sought Tinubu's complete FBI file. Another sought FBI Form 302 interview reports involving Tinubu in an FBI case identified as 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU between 1992 and 1993.
The activist has also filed requests with other US agencies as part of the broader litigation, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Internal Revenue Service and immigration authorities.
The court process
US District Judge Beryl Howell is handling the case. She allowed the FBI to submit additional explanations and disputed material ex parte and in camera, meaning the material goes to the judge for private review rather than onto the public court record. The FBI submitted that confidential material to the court on August 28. The documents remain under seal while Howell considers the government's position.
Reports have circulated that an FBI search in response to the FOIA requests identified 399 pages of potentially responsive records relating to Tinubu. The publicly available court notice confirms the submission of sealed material but does not disclose what the files contain. The 399-page figure and descriptions of the files' alleged contents come from commentary surrounding the case, not from the public filing itself.
The background
The records have drawn renewed attention because of Tinubu's legal history in the United States. A 1993 civil forfeiture case involved $460,000 that was forfeited to the US government. The existence of records concerning an investigation does not by itself establish that Tinubu committed a crime.
The current FOIA case is specifically about whether the US government can legally withhold the requested records. It is not a criminal prosecution of Tinubu. The FBI's warning about potential violence is also not a finding that anyone is currently planning an attack. The bureau is arguing that disclosure of certain identities or information could reasonably create a risk to the safety of people connected to the investigation.
Howell will ultimately decide which information can legally remain withheld and whether any portions of the records should be released publicly. The sealed material sits with the judge while that decision is made.
According to Pulse.ng.
