The Presidency has dismissed reports portraying an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before a United States federal court as a criminal proceeding, describing the matter as a civil dispute over access to government records.
The clarification was issued on Thursday night by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Onanuga said the case before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia arose from FOIA requests submitted in 2022 by Aaron Greenspan to several US government agencies for records relating to Tinubu.
He explained that after some of the agencies withheld certain records or declined to confirm or deny their existence, Greenspan filed Civil Action No. 23-1816 before the federal court in 2023.
The court subsequently allowed President Tinubu to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor.
According to Onanuga, the government agencies invoked the “Glomar defence”, a legal position under which an agency may decline to confirm or deny the existence of records where doing so could reveal protected information about an investigation.
He said the court, relying on the defence, granted summary judgment 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.
The remaining aspects of the case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration are still before the court.
Onanuga said the FBI and DEA, through the US Department of Justice, had produced 399 pages of records in compliance with court orders, although portions of the documents were redacted pursuant to exemptions under US law.
The agencies, he said, opposed further disclosure of some materials, arguing that they were protected by provisions relating to grand jury proceedings and the Pen Register Act.
They also relied on attorney-client and attorney-work-product privileges, as well as exemptions covering law-enforcement records, personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.
The Presidency said Tinubu, acting on the advice of his lawyers, had also asserted his rights under FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects personal privacy in certain law-enforcement records.
Onanuga said the plaintiff has until September 11, 2026, to file any opposition and reply to the processes submitted by the defendants and intervenor, while the FBI, DEA and Tinubu have until September 18 to respond to any processes filed by the plaintiff.
He stressed that the release or withholding of government records under the FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability.
“The matter is a civil records-disclosure dispute under the United States Freedom of Information Act. It is not a criminal case against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, nor has the court found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Onanuga said.
The Presidency also referenced a February 4, 2003 letter from the American Consulate in Lagos to then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, which it said stated that an FBI records check had found no criminal arrest records, wants or warrants for Tinubu, who was then governor of Lagos State.
Onanuga further rejected recent public commentary suggesting that Karl von Batten and his client, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, are central to the proceedings.
He maintained that neither Von Batten nor Atiku is a party to the case and accused them of attempting to portray themselves as being central to litigation that remains under the control of the US federal court.
“The United States District Court will decide that issue based on the filings and applicable US law, not political commentary,” he said.
The Presidency therefore urged the Nigerian media and members of the public to distinguish between verified court proceedings and political speculation, reiterating that the litigation does not constitute a criminal charge, trial or judicial finding against President Tinubu.
