Presidency says US court dispute involves access to government records, as FBI and DEA oppose release of unredacted documents linked to Freedom of Information Act requests.

The Presidency has clarified that the ongoing case involving President Bola Tinubu before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a civil dispute over access to government records and not a criminal case against the Nigerian president.

In a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the litigation arose from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed in 2022 by Aaron Greenspan, who sought records relating to Tinubu from several US government agencies.

After some records were withheld or agencies declined to confirm their existence, Greenspan filed a civil action in 2023, with Tinubu later allowed to participate in the case as an intervenor.

The Presidency said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had produced 399 pages of records in compliance with court orders, although portions were redacted under exemptions permitted by US law.

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Greenspan subsequently challenged the redactions and sought the release of the unredacted documents. However, the FBI and DEA, through the US Department of Justice, opposed the request.

According to the Presidency, the disputed exemptions cover matters including grand jury proceedings, attorney-client and work-product privileges, law-enforcement records, personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.

It said Tinubu, on the advice of his lawyers, had also asserted his rights under FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects personal information in law-enforcement records where disclosure could constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

The Presidency stressed that the release or withholding of records under the FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability.

The statement added that the US court had already granted summary judgment in favour of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Executive Office for US Attorneys, the US Department of State, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), effectively removing them from the proceedings.

However, claims involving the FBI and DEA remain under consideration.

The plaintiff has until September 11, 2026, to file an opposition, while the FBI, DEA and Tinubu, as an intervenor, have until September 18 to respond.

The Presidency said Judge Beryl A. Howell would determine the remaining dispute based on the evidence, applicable US law and arguments presented by the parties.

It also dismissed recent commentary by Karl von Batten, saying neither he nor his client is a party to the case.

The Presidency urged the Nigerian media and the public to distinguish between the ongoing civil dispute over access to government records and political commentary or speculation surrounding the case.