RismadarVoice Reporters, August 21, 2026
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked a federal court in Washington, D.C., for permission to submit a confidential declaration explaining why it is withholding some records relating to allegations linking President Bola Tinubu to a drug-trafficking investigation.
The request was contained in an application dated August 20, 2026, filed before the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
The FBI said it could not publicly disclose the full reasons for withholding some of the information and asked the court to allow it to submit an ex parte, in-camera declaration under seal.
Such a declaration is a confidential submission made privately to a judge and kept outside the public record.
The agency said it had relied on several exemptions under the US Freedom of Information Act in responding to requests for records relating to Tinubu from 1992 and 1993.
According to the FBI, releasing some of the withheld information could disclose law-enforcement investigative techniques and potentially endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.
The records sought include what was described as the FBI file on Tinubu and interview records from an FBI case covering the 1992–1993 period.
The FBI said it would submit the confidential declaration before August 28 if the court grants its request.
The case was brought by Aaron Greenspan, an American businessman and founder of PlainSite, who has filed multiple FOIA requests seeking records from investigations into a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s.
Greenspan’s requests also sought records concerning three other individuals whom he alleged were connected to the investigation.
The development comes amid a broader legal battle over the release of the records. In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration had improperly used so-called Glomar responses to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records relating to Tinubu.
A Glomar response allows a US government agency to refuse to confirm or deny whether requested records exist.
Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA had failed to provide sufficient justification for maintaining their refusals.
The latest application therefore represents a further development in the ongoing dispute over access to the requested records.
The FBI has maintained that some of the information remains protected under applicable FOIA exemptions, while the plaintiff continues to challenge the withholding of the records.
