The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly submitted records relating to President Bola Tinubu’s 1993 drug-trafficking and money-laundering case to a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for private review.
Court filings by the FBI indicated that the records were hand-delivered to Judge Beryl Howell under seal and on an ex parte, in camera basis, meaning they were submitted for the judge’s review without being made publicly available.
The development followed years of legal proceedings arising from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2023 by transparency campaigner Aaron Greenspan, who worked with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin in seeking records relating to the Nigerian president.
According to the filings, the documents were delivered to the court on August 28, 2026, in compliance with a minute order issued by the court on August 20.
The filing stated that the records were submitted as “under seal, ex parte, in camera declarations,” allowing the judge to review the materials privately.
The FBI has faced pressure to comply with court directives after missing several deadlines in the FOIA case and offering explanations for its inability to immediately release the requested records.
Judge Howell subsequently, issued August 28 as the deadline for the bureau to comply with the court’s order.
The FBI had earlier argued that releasing certain records could affect President Tinubu’s privacy interests, maintaining that the Freedom of Information Act was primarily designed to provide public access to information about government operations rather than private individuals.
President Tinubu had also sought to prevent the release of some records, arguing that the request was politically motivated and could be used by opponents to discredit him in Nigeria.
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The controversy relates to a long-running case involving allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering in the United States, in which Tinubu forfeited hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. government.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2023 released documents relating to Tinubu’s past dealings with American authorities over allegations connected to narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
The latest filing does not necessarily mean the records submitted to Judge Howell have been released to the public, as the documents were reportedly provided for the court’s private review.
The outcome of Judge Howell’s review could determine whether any additional portions of the requested FBI records will eventually be disclosed to Greenspan or made available publicly.
