FBI SEEKS SECRET COURT REVIEW OVER RELEASE OF WITHHELD TINUBU RECORDS, WARNS IT COULD ‘ENDANGER LIFE’
The U.S. FBI has asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., to allow it to privately submit confidential declarations explaining why it is withholding records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The request was filed on August 20, 2026, in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case brought by Aaron Greenspan. The records sought include Tinubu’s FBI file and interview records from 1992–1993.
The FBI cited several FOIA exemptions, including protections for personal privacy, confidential sources, law-enforcement techniques and information that could potentially endanger an individual’s life or physical safety.
The agency said it cannot publicly disclose the full reasons for invoking some of the exemptions and is therefore asking the court to review its confidential explanations “ex parte” and “in camera”—privately and outside the public record.
