The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court in Washington, DC, for permission to submit a confidential declaration explaining why it withheld some investigative records relating to allegations of drug trafficking involving President Bola Tinubu.
In an application dated August 20, the FBI said it could not publicly disclose the full reasons for withholding the records and requested to present them to the judge ex parte and in camera — meaning privately and under seal.
The agency said releasing some of the information could expose law-enforcement investigative techniques and potentially endanger the life or physical safety of individuals.
The records sought include Tinubu’s FBI file and interview reports from a 1992–1993 investigation. The FBI said it had relied on several exemptions under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including provisions covering personal privacy, confidential sources, investigative techniques and potential threats to individuals.
The agency said it would provide the confidential declaration before August 28 if the court grants its request.
The case was filed by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, who submitted multiple FOIA requests to US federal agencies seeking records connected to a Chicago heroin investigation in the early 1990s.
Greenspan sought records concerning Tinubu and three other individuals — Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele.
Several agencies initially issued so-called “Glomar responses”, declining to confirm or deny whether the requested records existed. Greenspan subsequently sued the agencies.
In April 2025, Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration had improperly relied on their Glomar responses and ordered them lifted, saying the agencies had not sufficiently established a privacy interest in keeping secret whether Tinubu had been the subject of a criminal investigation.
The latest development comes amid an ongoing dispute over the release of the records, with the US Department of Justice and Tinubu’s legal team previously seeking more time to respond to the court.
Howell reportedly granted the Justice Department only a four-day extension, rather than the requested 10 days, while Tinubu’s request for additional time was also declined.