The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States has ruled out the possibility of making public any documents or information relating to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
The FBI made its position on the issue known in a response filed in a suit filed before the United States District Court of the District of Columbia by one Aaron Greenspan, who is seeking to compel US security agencies, including the FBI to release some purported documents and information about Tinubu and “Mueez Adegboyega Akande (deceased as of 11/16/2022).”
The response, dated October 39 is in relation the application by Greenspan for the court to reconsider its ruling on October 23 rejecting his emergency motion for the release of the documents and information he is seeking in the substantive suit he filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
In the court document, titled: “Defendants’ response to plaintiff’s for reconsideration,” it was : “in plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, he argues that the court is wrong because FOIA exemptions had already been largely, or at least partially, overcome according to the representations by defendants in their September 11, 2023 Joint Status Repost.
“Plaintiff entirely misapprehends the Joint Status Report. None of the parties have conceded any FOIA exemptions.
“As to the actions that certain defendants agreed to take by the end of October, the FBI stated that it will release records relating to the two FOIA requests that sought records involving other individuals, not Tinubu.
“As to the Tinubu requests, the FBI asserted Exemptions (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C) Glomar response and neither confirmed nor denied the existence of records sought in those requests.
“State and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) stated that they anticipate sending initial responses – not necessarily documents.
“Absent any unforeseen circumstances, FBI, State, and EOUSA will comply with their representations made in the Joint Status Report.
“As to irreparable injury, plaintiff now concedes that ‘it is likely that this injury has already transpired’ and does not even contend – let alone establish – that the public interest outweighs the privacy interests or that the equities favour his position.
“Defendants reiterate that they oppose plaintiff’s characterization of the Joint Status Report filed September 11, 2023.
“Plaintiff states, ‘defendants acknowledged that plaintiff’s FOIA requests were valid and waived and/or reversed many of their prior erroneous denials and objections.’
“Plaintiff contends that D defendants made ‘existing promises to produce documents.’
“The only party that has acknowledged responsive documents that are not subject to an exemption and will be produced is the FBI, who will produce records not related to Tinubu. No exemptions have been waived.
“For these reasons, the court should deny plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration.”
Greenspan had, in June this year. filed the civil suit, with number: 23 – 1816 under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), against the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), Department of State (DOS), Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
He alleged that the defendants – EOUSA, DOS, FBI, IRS, DEA and the CIA violated the FOIA by “failing to issue determinations within the statutory deadline,” “failing] to conduct reasonable searches for records,” and “failing to produce records responsive to” his FOIA requests.
Greenspan had, in an FOIA request to the EOUSA, sought for “records from the Northern District of Illinois and/or Northern District of Indiana involving charging decisions for the following individuals – Bola Ahmed Tinubu (President of Nigeria as of 2/2023” and “Mueez Adegboyega Akande (deceased as of 11/16/2022.”
Tinubu’s victory in the last presidential election and dismissed the petitions by Atiku and Obi
