President Bola Tinubu has taken legal action to prevent the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from releasing his confidential records. In a motion filed in the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Columbia, Tinubu stated that he would be significantly impacted if his records, whether criminal or otherwise, were made public.
According to Bryan A. Carey, Tinubu’s attorney, the Nigerian leader has requested intervention in the case and opposes the motion for release. Carey argued that Tinubu’s interests are not fully represented or protected by the defendants and that denying his motion would have adverse consequences for him. The court received this plea in a document obtained by Peoples Gazette.
The request for Tinubu’s records was originally made by Aaron Greenspan, the owner of PlainSite, a website advocating for legal data transparency. Greenspan collaborated with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin in filing a freedom of information request in 2022. The FBI agreed to comply with the request last month and planned to release the records in batches, starting from October.
The anticipated release of these records has sparked interest among Nigerians, who hope for clarification regarding Tinubu’s background and alleged involvement in narcotics dealing. His forfeiture of $460,000 in 1993 due to this issue has long been a subject of controversy. However, Tinubu is determined to keep these records hidden from the public, just as he did with his Chicago State University records when he prevented his primary opponent, Atiku Abubakar, from accessing them.
It remains uncertain whether Tinubu’s efforts to block U.S. agencies from complying with federal disclosure regulations will be successful, considering the challenges he faced in preventing the release of his Chicago State University records. Despite these legal battles, Tinubu’s presidency, which is just five months old, has already been clouded by allegations of electoral fraud, perjury, narcotics dealing, and presenting forged certificates to the electoral commission, INEC.
