The Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked a US court for permission to submit a confidential declaration explaining why it is withholding some records relating to allegations linking President Bola Tinubu to a drug-trafficking investigation, arguing that their release could endanger lives .
The FBI made the request in an application dated August 20 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, saying it could not publicly disclose the full reasons for withholding certain information . The agency is seeking to file an ex parte, in camera declaration, which is a submission made privately to a judge for consideration without being placed on the public record .
According to the FBI, releasing the withheld information “would, among other things, disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations and/or could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual” .
The application was published on X on Thursday by Von Batten-Montague-York, a Washington-based lobbying firm recently hired by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar . The firm disclosed the filing as part of its efforts to pressure US authorities over the release of the documents .
The records are being sought by Aaron Greenspan, an American businessman and founder of PlainSite, who filed Freedom of Information Act requests with six US federal agencies between 2022 and 2023 . Greenspan sought records concerning investigations into a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s and involved four individuals, including Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Adegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele .
Five of the agencies responded that they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the requested records, a practice known as a Glomar response . Dissatisfied, Greenspan filed a lawsuit in June 2023 challenging the agencies’ use of the Glomar response .
In April 2025, Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the responses issued by the FBI and DEA were “improper and must be lifted”, holding that the agencies had failed to establish a sufficient privacy interest to justify keeping secret the fact that Tinubu was a subject of a criminal investigation .
The latest development follows a request by the US Department of Justice for an additional 10-day extension to respond to the court order . However, Judge Howell granted only four additional days, moving the deadline to August 21, 2026 . Tinubu, through his legal team, subsequently joined the DOJ’s request for a further extension, but Howell declined the request .
The FBI said that if the court grants permission, it would submit the confidential declaration explaining the reasons for withholding the information before August 28 . The agency specifically cited FOIA Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F), which protect law-enforcement techniques and information whose disclosure could endanger an individual’s safety .
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has not been convicted of drug trafficking in the United States . However, the renewed attention comes ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election, in which Tinubu is seeking a second term .
