The FBI has told a U.S. court that making investigative records on President Bola Tinubu public could expose informants and agents to violent retaliation, including possible assassination.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned a U.S. federal court that releasing unredacted investigative records concerning Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could expose confidential informants and law enforcement agents to violent targeting and assassination .
The legal warning was submitted in a court filing to Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in response to an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan .
The lawsuit seeks records relating to Tinubu’s alleged activities in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, including documents connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture case in which $460,000 associated with Tinubu was forfeited to the U.S. government .
To prevent the mandatory disclosure of the records, the FBI invoked FOIA Exemption 7(F), a statutory measure reserved specifically for law enforcement records whose release could reasonably endanger any individual’s life or physical safety .
The bureau argued that public exposure of raw investigative data would compromise active source networks and expose cooperating witnesses to immediate physical danger . Some individuals could regard the information as derogatory or incriminating, potentially leading to violent retaliation if their identities were disclosed .
The FBI requested permission to submit its full justification to the judge privately in an ex parte, in camera filing . The bureau stated it cannot publicly explain every reason for withholding the information because doing so could reveal sensitive law-enforcement techniques the exemptions are designed to protect . Judge Howell has permitted the FBI to submit its explanation and relevant records under seal for private judicial review .
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