The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has submitted records relating to President Bola Tinubu’s 1993 drug-trafficking and money-laundering investigation to a United States federal judge for confidential review.
The documents were delivered to Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday, August 28.
This comes after the court ordered the FBI to meet the deadline in the long-running Freedom of Information Act case.
The records were not released to the public or handed over to Aaron Greenspan, the American transparency campaigner who has been seeking access to the documents.
Instead, the FBI submitted them “under seal, ex parte, in camera,” according to court filings. In practical terms, the material has been placed under seal and presented privately to Judge Howell for her consideration.
The latest development does not mean the records have been made public. It also does not mean the court has made any new finding against Tinubu.
Rather, Judge Howell will now examine the material and determine whether the FBI has sufficient legal grounds to withhold some or all of the documents.
The submission followed months of disagreement between the FBI, the court and Greenspan over the release of records connected to investigations involving Tinubu in the early 1990s.
Greenspan began seeking the documents through FOIA requests before filing a lawsuit against several US government agencies. He worked with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin in pursuing the request.
Among the materials sought are the FBI’s file relating to Tinubu and interview records known as Form 302 reports from the 1992 and 1993 period.
The dispute has remained active for years, with US agencies repeatedly asking for additional time to review the records and determine what information could legally be released.
Judge Howell eventually became increasingly firm over the delays and set August 28 as a key deadline for the parties involved.
The FBI had earlier asked the court for permission to provide some of its reasons for withholding the records privately.
The bureau argued that a full explanation in open court could reveal sensitive law-enforcement information.
The agency relied on several exemptions under the US Freedom of Information Act. These include provisions dealing with personal privacy, confidential sources, investigative methods and information that could potentially threaten an individual’s safety.
In an earlier filing, the FBI said, “The FBI has determined that it cannot provide on the public record the full basis for the application of Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F) to certain withholdings and that, therefore, an ex parte, under seal declaration is necessary.”
That request paved the way for the confidential submission now before Judge Howell.
The case dates back to allegations and investigations involving Tinubu during his time in the United States in the early 1990s.
One of the matters connected to the dispute involved a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in Chicago involving approximately $460,000.
US court records previously made public showed that funds linked to Tinubu were forfeited to the United States government.
Tinubu has denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally convicted in connection with the matter.
His legal team has also opposed the release of the records, arguing that making the information public would violate his privacy rights.
In previous court filings, Tinubu argued that publicly releasing additional records could expose private information without establishing any new criminal finding against him.
His lawyers have also pointed to the fact that some information concerning the old case has already entered the public domain.
Rather than immediately handing the documents to Greenspan, the bureau has placed the material before the judge.
Judge Howell will have to determine which portions, if any, are protected under US law.
The private review is known in US legal procedure as an in-camera review. It allows a judge to examine disputed material personally when a government agency argues that publicly explaining the contents or reasons for withholding them could itself reveal protected information.
The fact that the FBI has now submitted the documents does not automatically guarantee their eventual release.
The judge could order the release of some of the records, uphold the withholding of certain portions, or require the FBI to provide additional information before making a final decision.
The records remain inaccessible to Greenspan and the general public while the review is ongoing.
In another development, Politics Nigeria had earlier reported that Tinubu joined the US Department of Justice in seeking additional time in the FOIA case involving the records.
The president’s legal team had opposed the release of the documents and argued that disclosure could infringe on his privacy.
