A request for the urgent release of President Bola Tinubu’s confidential records, compiled by American law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has been denied by a federal judge in the United States. Aaron Greenspan, a transparency activist in collaboration with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin, had urged Judge Beryl Howell to quickly order the FBI, State Department, and other U.S. bodies to immediately turn over the records, which they had scheduled for release before the end of October. However, Judge Howell denied Mr. Greenspan’s motion, ruling that he had not adequately justified his request for an urgent hearing. She also noted that the records may be of a highly sensitive and private nature and that Mr. Tinubu has had no opportunity to protect his privacy interests in them.
The judge approved Mr. Tinubu’s request to allow his lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, to appear in the case, although she has yet to rule on the president’s motion to intervene in the matter. The U.S. Department of Justice, represented by Matthew Graves, said that the government would not be taking any position as to whether Mr. Tinubu should join the case.
In September, the FBI announced that it would comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and release Tinubu’s records in batches of 500 pages starting in October. However, Tinubu filed a motion to block the release of his records on Monday. The motion argues that he has a “direct interest” in the records sought and that his interests are not “fully represented or protected” by the defendants in the case. The motion also argues that Tinubu’s interests will be “adversely affected” if he is not allowed to intervene.
Tinubu, who is facing allegations related to drug dealings and presenting forged certificates to Nigeria’s electoral body, INEC, is also accused of holding Guinean citizenship, among other allegations. It is noteworthy that a similar action was taken by Tinubu when his main political opponent, Atiku Abubakar, sought his educational records from the Chicago State University. The Nigerian leader opposed the release of this information, but his efforts were unsuccessful as the documents were eventually disclosed to Atiku.