BREAKING: TINUBU ASKS US COURT TO REJECT GREENSPAN’S BID TO INTRODUCE ADDITIONAL RECORDS IN FBI, DEA CASE

By NaijaParrot October 16, 2026 

 WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked a United States federal court to reject a move by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan to introduce additional records in an ongoing legal dispute over documents held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The case, before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, concerns Greenspan’s requests for government records relating to Tinubu and other individuals under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Tinubu’s legal team has opposed efforts to obtain further information, arguing that portions of the records should remain confidential under American privacy laws and legal exemptions governing law-enforcement documents.

Tinubu’s lawyers have argued that FOIA is intended to promote transparency about government activities, not to provide unrestricted access to personal information held by federal agencies. In court filings, the President’s legal team maintained that the FBI and DEA had already released thousands of pages of documents while withholding or redacting information they consider legally protected. The lawyers cited privacy provisions under FOIA and the US Privacy Act, arguing that the release of additional unredacted material could constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. They also urged the court to distinguish between requiring agencies to search for relevant records and compelling them to disclose every detail contained in those records. 

 Greenspan, founder of the transparency platform PlainSite, has pursued records from several US government agencies concerning Tinubu and other individuals. His requests include documents relating to investigations dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as records associated with a 1993 US civil forfeiture proceeding involving approximately $460,000 linked to Tinubu. Greenspan has challenged the agencies’ handling of his requests and sought further disclosure of material he believes has not been adequately provided. The dispute has involved questions about the adequacy of agency searches, the justification for redactions and whether the information withheld falls within exemptions recognised under US law. 

 In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could not rely on their earlier refusal to confirm or deny whether responsive records existed. The judge directed the agencies to search for and process records that were not exempt from disclosure. However, that ruling did not order the release of every document without redactions. The current dispute includes disagreements over which portions of the records may lawfully remain withheld. The proceedings are a civil dispute over access to government records under FOIA, not a criminal prosecution of Tinubu. No conclusion about criminal wrongdoing should be inferred simply from the existence of the records request or the ongoing litigation.  

Tinubu’s latest legal position seeks to prevent Greenspan from obtaining further material through the process being challenged. The outcome will depend on the court’s assessment of the parties’ arguments, the relevance of the proposed material and the legal protections applicable to the records. The dispute continues to attract attention in Nigeria because of its potential implications for public transparency and scrutiny of the President’s historical records. 

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