President Bola Tinubu asks a US federal court to block further release of records held by the FBI and DEA that are linked to investigations involving him. Sources say the request is tied to an American transparency activist’s bid to obtain documents through the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including an alleged “entire FBI file” and FBI Form 302 interview records from 1992 to 1993.
Tinubu’s lawyers argue that US privacy rules bar disclosure, and that the matter does not meet FOIA’s requirement of a recognized public interest. They also contend that any balancing of public interest against his privacy rights should not favour disclosure, and that the requester’s motives are political and speculative. They cite legal protections for personal information in law-enforcement records and a US Supreme Court decision limiting FOIA’s role in exposing private details about individuals collected in government files.
The articles provide background that the records relate to a 1993 civil forfeiture case in Illinois, involving $460,000 in an account in Tinubu’s name. Reporting notes that during Nigeria’s 2023 election petition, the case is described as civil forfeiture rather than a criminal conviction, and that a court ruled petitioners did not prove a criminal arrest, arraignment, conviction, or sentencing. One cited development is that in April 2025 a US judge ordered agencies to process the request, after earlier “Glomar” non-confirmation responses, subject to exemptions.
