Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked a United States federal court to prevent the release of records linked to historical investigations involving him, arguing that disclosure would violate his privacy rights.
Tinubu, through his lawyers, filed a 16-page submission on Friday, August 28, 2026, opposing efforts by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan to obtain the records under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Greenspan has sued several US government agencies seeking documents relating to investigations involving Tinubu. Among the records requested are the FBI’s file on the Nigerian president, interview records known as FBI Form 302 covering 1992 and 1993, and documents connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 linked to Tinubu.
Tinubu has denied wrongdoing in connection with the allegations.
His legal team, comprising Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi, argued that the fact that some information may have previously appeared in public records does not remove his privacy interest in the contents of broader investigative files.
“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.
They also challenged Greenspan’s focus on obtaining documents containing Tinubu’s name, arguing that FOIA should not be used to access information protected by privacy exemptions.
“Plaintiff’s filings, overwhelmingly, demonstrate that his singular focus is obtaining documents with Intervenor’s ‘name on them’,” the filing stated.
According to Tinubu’s lawyers, the privacy protections under US law remain relevant even where limited information about a person or an earlier proceeding has already been made public.
They therefore asked the court to reject Greenspan’s request for summary judgment and allow the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to maintain the redactions or withholdings currently applied to the records.
The case is before the US District Court for the District of Columbia and forms part of a FOIA dispute that began after Greenspan sought access to records concerning historical investigations involving Tinubu.
The court will ultimately determine whether the requested records can be released under FOIA or remain protected under the privacy and other exemptions relied upon by the US agencies and Tinubu’s legal team.
