FBI, CIA Reject Request To Release Tinubu’s Records
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have opposed a request by an American citizen to make public the confidential records of President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria.
The two US agencies argued that Tinubu has “privacy rights that should be considered” and that the requestor, Aaron Greenspan, did not meet the legal requirements for obtaining such information.
Greenspan, who filed a motion for reconsideration of an earlier ruling by a US court, had sought to compel the FBI, CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to expedite the release of Tinubu’s dossier under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
However, the agencies responded that the court had already denied Greenspan’s motion for a temporary restraining order and that he was merely seeking to reargue his position. The agencies asked the court to deny Greenspan’s motion for reconsideration.
This development comes after the US District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Greenspan’s emergency request on the release of Tinubu’s records in February 2023.
The court, presided over by Judge Beryl Howell, had said that Greenspan did not show that he would succeed on the merits as to FOIA exemptions and irreparable injury is likely, and that the balance of equities favor him or granting the motion would further the public interest. The court also said that Tinubu had no opportunity to protect his privacy interests in any such records and that they may be of a highly sensitive and private nature.
