Tinubu US case not criminal, Presidency clarifies

The Presidency has clarified that the ongoing Freedom of Information Act case involving President Bola Tinubu before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is a civil records-disclosure dispute and not a criminal case. The case was initiated in 2023 by Aaron Greenspan, who submitted FOIA requests to several US government agencies seeking records relating to Tinubu.

The agencies withheld certain records or declined to confirm or deny their existence, leading to the commencement of the civil action. The Presidency emphasized that the court had not found the President guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and that he was permitted to participate as an intervenor in the proceedings. The American Consulate in Lagos had previously confirmed in 2003 that an FBI records check found no criminal arrest records or warrants for Tinubu, who was then governor.

The US District Court subsequently granted summary judgment in favor of several US government agencies, including the CIA, EOUSA, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service, removing them from the proceedings. Aspects of the claims involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration remain under consideration, with the FBI and DEA having produced 399 pages of records in compliance with the court's orders, with portions redacted under exemptions provided by US law.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.