Tinubu Not Facing Criminal Case In US, Presidency Clarifies

By Adebola Muili

The Presidency has clarified that the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation involving records relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before a United States District Court is a civil records-disclosure dispute and not a criminal case against the President.

The clarification followed recent reports and public commentary on the case before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

In a statement issued on Thursday, September 3, 2026, by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said the court had neither charged Tinubu with a criminal offence nor found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.

Onanuga explained that the case began after Aaron Greenspan submitted FOIA requests in 2022 to several US government agencies seeking records relating to Tinubu. According to him, after some agencies withheld records or declined to confirm or deny their existence, Greenspan commenced Civil Action No. 23-1816 before the US District Court in 2023.

The court subsequently permitted Tinubu to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor, the statement said.

According to the Presidency, the US agencies invoked what is known as the “Glomar defence”, a legal position which allows government agencies, in certain circumstances, to decline to confirm or deny the existence of records where disclosure could undermine law-enforcement interests.

Onanuga said the court thereafter granted summary judgment in favour of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), Department of State, Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), effectively removing them from the proceedings.

He said the remaining aspects of the case involve the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The Presidency disclosed that, in compliance with the court’s orders, the FBI and DEA produced 399 pages of records, with portions redacted under exemptions provided by US law.

“The Plaintiff challenged the FBI and DEA’s decisions to redact portions of the documents produced,” the statement said.

The FBI and DEA, through the US Department of Justice, subsequently opposed the demand for the release of the documents without redactions.

The agencies, according to the Presidency, cited several FOIA exemptions, including protections covering grand jury proceedings, attorney-client and attorney-work-product privileges, law-enforcement records, personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.

The statement added that Tinubu, on the advice of his lawyers, had also asserted his rights under FOIA Exemption 7(C), which relates to personal privacy in law-enforcement records.

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

“The case concerns access to government records and the proper application of statutory exemptions,” Onanuga said.

The statement further disclosed that the plaintiff has until September 11, 2026, to file any opposition and reply to the processes filed by the defendants and the intervenor, while the FBI, DEA and Tinubu have until September 18, 2026, to respond.

The Presidency also recalled that, in a letter dated February 4, 2003, the American Consulate in Lagos informed the then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, that an FBI records check had found no criminal arrest records, wants or warrants for Tinubu, who was then governor.

Onanuga said the outcome of the current litigation would be determined by Judge Beryl A. Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, based on the evidence, applicable law and arguments of the parties.

He urged the Nigerian media and the public to distinguish between verified court proceedings and what the Presidency described as partisan speculation.

“The litigation is a civil records-disclosure dispute under FOIA. It does not constitute a criminal charge, trial, or judicial finding against President Tinubu,” the statement added.