The Presidency has clarified that an ongoing Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, case involving records related to President Bola Tinubu before a United States federal court is a civil records-disclosure dispute, not a criminal case.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said the case stems from FOIA requests filed in 2022 by Aaron Greenspan with several US government agencies seeking records relating to Tinubu. He said the matter is pending before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Onanuga said Greenspan initiated Civil Action No. 23-1816 in 2023 after the agencies withheld certain records or declined to confirm or deny their existence. The court subsequently allowed Tinubu to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor.
According to the Presidency, the agencies invoked the “Glomar defence”, a legal position that allows US government agencies, in certain circumstances, to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation or related records.
Onanuga said the court granted summary judgement in favour of the Central Intelligence Agency, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, Department of State, Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service, removing them from the proceedings.
He said the remaining aspects of the case concern records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA.
“In compliance with the court’s orders, the FBI and DEA produced 399 pages of records, with portions redacted under exemptions provided by United States law,” the statement said.
The Presidency said Greenspan subsequently challenged the agencies’ decisions to redact portions of the documents.
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According to Onanuga, the FBI and DEA, through the US Department of Justice, argued that some of the records were protected from disclosure under various legal exemptions.
These include protections covering grand jury proceedings, information under the Pen Register Act, attorney-client communications and attorney work product.
The agencies also cited exemptions relating to law-enforcement records, personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.
Onanuga said Tinubu, acting on the advice of his lawyers, had also asserted his rights under FOIA Exemption 7C, which concerns the protection of personal privacy in law-enforcement records.
The Presidency said Greenspan has until September 11, 2026, to file any opposition and reply to the processes submitted by the defendants and the President’s legal team. The FBI, DEA and Tinubu, as intervenor, have until September 18 to respond to any processes filed by Greenspan.
Onanuga stressed that the release or withholding of records under FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability. “The case concerns access to government records and the proper application of statutory exemptions,” he said.
The Presidency also rejected recent commentary suggesting that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or Karl Von Batten is central to the proceedings, stating that neither is a party to the case.
It further said the outcome of the litigation rests with Judge Beryl A. Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and will be determined by the evidence, applicable law and arguments presented by the parties.
“The litigation is a civil records-disclosure dispute under FOIA. It does not constitute a criminal charge, trial or judicial finding against President Tinubu,” the statement said.
The Presidency urged the media and the public to distinguish between verified court proceedings and what it described as partisan speculation surrounding the case.
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