The Presidency has rejected reports portraying President Bola Tinubu as being involved in a criminal case in the United States, clarifying that the matter before a Washington, DC court is a civil dispute over access to government records.
The clarification was issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who said the proceedings arose from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
Onanuga stressed that the case does not constitute a criminal prosecution of Tinubu and that the court has not convicted or found the Nigerian president guilty of any criminal offence.
“For clarity, the matter is a civil records-disclosure dispute under the United States Freedom of Information Act. It is not a criminal case against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, nor has the court found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Onanuga said.
According to the Presidency, Greenspan submitted FOIA requests in 2022 to several US government agencies seeking access to records.
The requests eventually led to Civil Action No. 23-1816, filed in 2023 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Tinubu was subsequently permitted by the court to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor, allowing him to defend his privacy interests concerning the records being sought.
Onanuga said several federal agencies initially involved in the dispute have since been removed from the case after securing summary judgment based on the “Glomar defence”.
The defence allows government agencies, in certain circumstances, to neither confirm nor deny whether particular records exist.
The Presidency said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) remain parties to the litigation.
According to Onanuga, the agencies have released 399 pages of records, although portions of the documents have been withheld or redacted under exemptions contained in US law.
The stated grounds for the redactions include grand jury secrecy, attorney-client and attorney work-product privileges, law enforcement considerations, personal privacy protections and safeguards for confidential sources and investigative methods.
The Presidency explained that some information cannot legally be disclosed because it relates to grand jury proceedings.
Other withheld material, it said, involves legal advice exchanged between investigators and US Department of Justice lawyers, while some records were prepared specifically for law enforcement purposes.
Information capable of exposing private individuals or identifying confidential sources has also been protected under applicable FOIA exemptions.
Tinubu, according to the statement, has separately relied on privacy protections available under the US FOIA framework.
Onanuga said Greenspan has until September 11 to respond to filings submitted by the defendants and Tinubu as intervenor.
The FBI, DEA and Tinubu are expected to file further responses by September 18.
The presidential aide also criticised recent comments attributed to Karl von Batten, arguing that neither Von Batten nor his client is a party to the litigation.
He maintained that the matter remains under the authority of Judge Beryl A. Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to Onanuga, the judge will determine the case based on the evidence, applicable law and arguments presented by the parties.
He urged Nigerian media organisations to separate established court proceedings from political commentary and speculation.
The dispute followed 12 FOIA requests submitted between 2022 and 2023 by Greenspan, the founder of the legal-records website PlainSite.
The requests sought records from six US federal agencies relating to a Chicago heroin-trafficking investigation dating back to the early 1990s.
Tinubu was named in connection with the investigation alongside Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele.
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The agencies initially relied on “Glomar” responses, declining to confirm or deny whether responsive records existed.
Greenspan subsequently filed the lawsuit in June 2023.
In April 2025, Judge Howell ruled that the agencies’ refusal to provide confirmation was “neither logical nor plausible” and ordered the FBI and DEA to process the requested records.
Tinubu was later allowed to intervene in the case to protect his privacy interests.
The Presidency’s latest statement maintains that the proceedings should therefore be understood as a civil FOIA records-disclosure case rather than a criminal prosecution of the Nigerian president.
