The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that some of its agents and informants could face violent retaliation, including possible assassination, if records relating to alleged drug-trafficking activities involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu are made public.

The warning was contained in a court filing submitted by the FBI in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit before Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, DC.

The case arose from FOIA requests filed by American transparency activist and lead plaintiff, Aaron Greenspan, seeking records concerning Tinubu’s alleged activities in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s.

Greenspan had also sought records relating to Tinubu from several US federal agencies, including the FBI, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and US immigration authorities.

In its filing, the FBI argued that releasing certain information contained in the records could expose individuals involved in or who assisted investigations to retaliation from third parties allegedly connected to criminal activities referenced in the files.

The bureau said it was relying, among other provisions, on FOIA Exemption 7(F), which permits agencies to withhold law-enforcement information where disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger an individual's life or physical safety.

According to the FBI, the release of names and other identifying details could place some individuals at risk.

The bureau further argued that some people identified in the investigative records could consider the information derogatory or incriminating, while those who provided information or participated in investigations could potentially become targets of violent retaliation if their identities were disclosed.

The filing followed an order by Judge Howell directing the FBI to explain why records relating to the Tinubu investigation should continue to be withheld. The court also permitted the agency to submit its explanation and relevant records privately for judicial review.

The dispute forms part of a broader effort to obtain US government records concerning Tinubu, amid longstanding public interest in documents relating to his activities in the United States.

US federal agencies have previously faced criticism over delays in releasing some of the requested materials, including records connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving $460,000 associated with Tinubu that was forfeited to the US government.

The latest court filing, however, does not by itself establish that Tinubu was involved in drug trafficking or that any specific individual has been targeted or assassinated. Rather, the FBI's argument concerns the potential risks it says could arise from disclosing identifying information contained in law-enforcement records.