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President Bola Tinubu has asked a United States court to stop the release of records relating to alleged drug trafficking investigations, arguing that making the documents public would violate his privacy rights.
The records are being sought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other agencies.
Greenspan is requesting the FBI's complete file on Tinubu, including FBI Form 302 interview records connected to investigations conducted between 1992 and 1993.
The case also relates to documents linked to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 allegedly connected to Tinubu. The Nigerian president has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
According to a 16-page court filing submitted by Tinubu's legal team, comprising Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi, the release of the requested records would infringe on the president's privacy interests.
The lawyers argued that although some information connected to the forfeiture case is already in the public domain, it does not disclose the details of any criminal investigation or its outcome.
They maintained that previous public disclosures do not extinguish an individual's right to privacy over investigative files that remain undisclosed.
Citing several U.S. Supreme Court and federal court decisions, Tinubu's legal team argued that individuals retain privacy rights over investigative records even when they have previously been publicly associated with criminal investigations.
The filing further contended that Greenspan's primary objective is to obtain government documents bearing Tinubu's name and that such records remain protected under FOIA Exemption 7(C) and the Privacy Act.
Tinubu's lawyers also defended the FBI and DEA's decision to redact or withhold portions of the requested documents, insisting that the agencies acted within the law.
They urged the court to reject Greenspan's motion for summary judgment and uphold the redactions and withholdings already made by the FBI and DEA.
The case is one of several legal proceedings in the United States arising from Greenspan's efforts to obtain government records relating to President Tinubu under the Freedom of Information Act.
