Society Gists

These records, compiled by American law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), were requested by Aaron Greenspan, a transparency activist in collaboration with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin.

Greenspan’s motion urged Judge Howell to swiftly order the FBI, State Department, and other U.S. bodies to immediately hand over the records, which they had planned to release before the end of October.

However, Judge Howell denied Greenspan’s motion, stating that he had not sufficiently justified his request for an urgent hearing.

“Plaintiff’s emergency motion for a hearing to compel immediate document production is denied,” Judge Howell declared. She stated that the records might contain highly sensitive and private information, and President Tinubu had not had an opportunity to protect his privacy interests.

Additionally, the judge approved President Tinubu’s request to allow his lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, to appear in the case. However, she has yet to rule on the president’s motion to intervene in the matter.

Representing the U.S. Department of Justice, Matthew Graves announced that the government would not be taking any position regarding President Tinubu’s involvement in the case.

This legal battle follows the FBI’s earlier announcement in September, stating that they would comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and release Tinubu’s records in batches of 500 pages starting this month. However, on Monday, October 23, 2023, President Tinubu filed a motion to block the release of his records.

The motion argues that he has a “direct interest” in the records sought and that his interests are not adequately represented or protected by the defendants in the case. It further contends that Tinubu’s interests will be “adversely affected” if he is not allowed to intervene.

Recall that President Tinubu had previously taken similar action when his political opponent, Atiku Abubakar, sought his educational records from the Chicago State University. Despite President Tinubu’s opposition, the documents were eventually disclosed to Atiku.

President Tinubu is currently facing various allegations, including drug presenting forged certificates to Nigeria’s electoral body (INEC), and holding Guinean citizenship.