The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court for permission to keep some records linked to a historical investigation involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu confidential.
The FBI said releasing the withheld portions of the records could expose sensitive law-enforcement techniques and potentially endanger the lives or physical safety of individuals.
The development is contained in an application filed on August 20 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to the filing, the FBI wants permission to submit a confidential declaration to explain privately to the judge why some of the requested information should remain undisclosed.
Such a submission, known as an ex parte, in camera declaration, would be reviewed by the judge privately and would not form part of the public court record.
What is the FBI withholding?
The records are connected to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking information relating to Tinubu and a historical US investigation dating back to the early 1990s.
One request sought the entire FBI file relating to Tinubu, while another sought FBI Form 302 interview records involving him from 1992 and 1993.
The FBI said it had relied on several FOIA exemptions, including provisions covering personal privacy, confidential sources, investigative techniques and information whose disclosure could endanger individuals.
The agency argued that it could not publicly provide the full justification for relying on some of those exemptions because doing so could itself reveal the sensitive information it is trying to protect.
Court battle over Tinubu records
The latest development is part of a long-running legal battle initiated by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, who has sought US government records concerning historical investigations into a Chicago heroin-trafficking operation.
Greenspan filed multiple FOIA requests with US federal agencies, including the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), seeking records concerning several individuals, including Tinubu.
In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could no longer rely on a so-called “Glomar response” to simply refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records concerning Tinubu.
The court subsequently ordered the agencies to address the requested records, leading to the latest dispute over what information can legally remain confidential.
Why the latest FBI filing matters
The FBI is not asking the court to keep all the records permanently hidden. Rather, it wants to provide the judge with additional, confidential reasons why certain portions should remain withheld.
The agency said some of the information could reveal investigative methods or potentially put people at risk if released publicly.
If the court grants the request, the FBI said it intends to submit the confidential declaration by August 28.
The development comes amid renewed public interest in the long-running controversy surrounding US records connected to allegations involving Tinubu.
Importantly, the existence of an FBI investigation or withheld records does not by itself establish that Tinubu committed drug trafficking or any other crime. The current court dispute concerns access to government records and the legal basis for withholding portions of them.
