The records are being sought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against several US government agencies seeking documents connected to investigations involving Tinubu.
Greenspan’s requests include the FBI’s entire file on Tinubu, as well as FBI Form 302 interview records relating to the period between 1992 and 1993.
The case also involves records allegedly connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the US involving approximately $460,000 linked to Tinubu. The Nigerian president has denied wrongdoing.
In a 16-page court filing, Tinubu’s lawyers — Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi — argued that releasing the records could infringe on his privacy rights.
The legal team maintained that the documents sought by Greenspan contain information that is not part of the existing public record.
According to the lawyers, previous disclosures relating to the forfeiture proceedings did not eliminate Tinubu’s privacy interests in the wider investigative files.
They argued that an individual could retain privacy rights over undisclosed details in a government file even when some information from the same file had previously been made public.
Tinubu’s lawyers also cited US Supreme Court precedent and other court decisions involving government investigative records to support their argument.
The legal team further challenged Greenspan’s focus on obtaining documents containing Tinubu’s name, arguing that such a request should not override exemptions under the FOIA or protections provided by the Privacy Act.
“Plaintiff’s filings, overwhelmingly, demonstrate that his singular focus is obtaining documents with Intervenor’s ‘name on them,’” the lawyers argued.
They maintained that Greenspan should not be permitted to use FOIA to obtain information about an individual from government files where the records are otherwise protected from disclosure.
Tinubu’s legal team subsequently asked the court to reject Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and allow the FBI and DEA to maintain their existing redactions or withholdings.
The court’s decision on the request will determine whether the disputed investigative records can be released under Greenspan’s FOIA case.
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