The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said its informants and agents could face “violent retaliation” if it releases files on President Bola Tinubu’s alleged drug trafficking and immigration records, as well as his links to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The FBI issued the warning in a court filing on Friday, August 28, in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation before Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.
The case stems from FOIA requests by American transparency activist and lead plaintiff, Aaron Greenspan, seeking documents on Mr Tinubu’s alleged drug dealings spanning between 1980s and 1990s.
In court filings between 2022 and 2023, Mr Greenspan also sought the release of the Nigerian president’s records held by U.S. federal agencies, including the CIA, IRS, DEA and immigration authorities.
The FBI cited FOIA Exemption (b)(7)(F)-1 as the basis for protecting agents, noting that information revealed “would shed light on the criminal activities of third parties,” who might retaliate against the individuals for their participation in or cooperation with the investigation.
In the filing made on its behalf by Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and seen by the Peoples Gazette, the FBI said Mr Tinubu and other parties involved in the alleged drug dealings could deem the information “derogatory” and “incriminating.”
“Additionally, whether they provided information or participated in the investigation as law enforcement personnel, it is likely these individuals would be violently targeted by third parties involved in the criminal activities associated with this specific drug trafficking investigation or by members of the public.
“For these reasons, the FBI reasonably determined that the release of any of these individuals’ names or information in the context of these specific investigative records would endanger their lives or physical safety, and therefore asserted Exemption 7(F), in concurrence with Exemptions 6 and 7(C) and, at times, Exemption 7(D), to protect their information,” the bureau said.
The FBI’s latest filing came days after Judge Howell fixed August 28 deadline for the bureau to explain why the alleged drug-dealing files involving Mr Tinubu should remain withheld.
Ms Howell also asked the federal agency to submit the files privately for the court to review them, following its request for an “ex parte, in camera declaration,” according to Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, hired by the African Democratic Congress’ 2027 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Earlier, on February 3, the judge faulted the FBI and DEA’s delay in releasing the documents linking Mr Tinubu to narcotics trafficking that made him surrender $460,000 to the U.S. government.
In 2023, the FBI announced plans to release 2,500 pages of Mr Tinubu’s records in monthly batches of 500 pages. However, this stalled after the president opposed it, pending a Nigerian Supreme Court judgement he was praying to uphold his election victory. He claimed that he would be “adversely affected” if his FBI records were released prematurely.
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