Daud Olatunji
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has submitted records relating to President Bola Tinubu’s long-running legal controversy in the United States to a federal judge, but the documents will remain under seal for now.
The records, relating to a 1993 case involving allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering, were reportedly hand-delivered to Judge Beryl Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday.
According to court filings cited by Peoples Gazette, the FBI submitted the documents “under seal, ex parte, in camera” in compliance with a court order issued by Howell on August 20.
The development followed a protracted legal battle over a Freedom of Information Act request filed in 2023 by transparency campaigner Aaron Greenspan, who had sought the release of records concerning Tinubu from the FBI.
Greenspan reportedly worked with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin on the FOIA request.
The latest court filing indicated that the FBI complied with the judge’s directive by submitting the materials directly to the court rather than releasing them to Greenspan.
The records were reportedly delivered after the judge gave the FBI a final deadline of August 28 to comply with her order.
The FBI had earlier resisted the disclosure, arguing that releasing the records could infringe on Tinubu’s privacy rights.
The bureau also reportedly maintained that the Freedom of Information Act was primarily designed to promote transparency concerning government records and operations and did not automatically require the disclosure of private information about individuals.
Tinubu had also opposed the release of the records, arguing that the request was politically motivated and could be used by his opponents to damage his reputation ahead of Nigeria’s elections.
The controversy dates back to Tinubu’s dealings with American authorities in the 1990s. Questions surrounding the case have persisted for years, particularly following the forfeiture of a substantial amount of money to the United States government in connection with the proceedings.
Tinubu has previously denied wrongdoing and has maintained that attempts to link him to criminal activity were politically motivated.
In 2023, a United States court in Illinois released documents relating to the case, further fuelling public debate in Nigeria over Tinubu’s past in the United States.
However, the latest submission does not mean that the contents of the FBI records have become public.
The documents were submitted in camera, meaning they were made available privately to the judge for judicial review. They were also filed ex parte, indicating that the petitioner was not given access to them at that stage.
It therefore remains unclear when, or whether, the records will eventually be made public.
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