ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Presidency has said the fate of records concerning President Bola Tinubu in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), case in the United States rests with the US District Court for the District of Columbia and not former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
It also dismissed suggestions that the case amounts to a criminal proceeding against the President, stressing that the dispute centres on the release or withholding of government records.
According to Vanguard, the Presidency made the clarification on Thursday in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
It was reacting to renewed calls by Atiku and his associates for the release of records relating to alleged drug-trafficking investigations involving Tinubu.
The Presidency said the court, presided over by Judge Beryl A. Howell, would determine the matter based on the evidence, applicable law and arguments presented by the parties.
“The release or withholding of records under FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability.
“The case concerns access to government records and the proper application of statutory exemptions,” the statement said.
It added that the matter was “exclusively within the control” of the US court, which would decide the outcome “not the wishful preference of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or his agent, Mr Von Batten.”
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The statement also traced the dispute to a 2022 FOIA request by Aaron Greenspan, who sought records relating to Tinubu from several US government agencies.
According to the Presidency, after some agencies either withheld records or declined to confirm or deny their existence, Greenspan instituted Civil Action No. 23-1816 before the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2023.
The court later allowed Tinubu to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor.
The Presidency said several US agencies initially relied on what is known as the “Glomar defence”, a legal position under which a government agency may decline to confirm or deny whether particular investigative records exist.
It said the court subsequently granted summary judgment in favour of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA; Executive Office for United States Attorneys, EOUSA; Department of State; Department of the Treasury; and Internal Revenue Service, IRS, removing them from the proceedings.
The remaining aspects of the case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, were left for further consideration.
The Presidency said the FBI and DEA subsequently released 399 pages of records, although portions were redacted under exemptions contained in US law.
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The plaintiff challenged the redactions and sought access to the withheld portions of the documents.
Explaining the reasons given by the agencies for retaining some of the records, the Presidency said some documents were protected by law, including records relating to grand jury proceedings and certain court orders covered by the Pen Register Act.
It said other materials contained information protected by attorney-client and attorney-work-product privileges, while some documents were prepared for law-enforcement purposes.
The agencies also cited privacy concerns, as well as the need to protect confidential sources and investigative techniques, under relevant FOIA exemptions.
The Presidency said Tinubu, acting on the advice of his lawyers, had also asserted his rights under FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects certain personal information contained in law-enforcement records.
The development followed renewed pressure from Atiku and US-based lobbyist Ikemefuna Okeke Von Batten for the release of alleged FBI records concerning Tinubu.
Atiku had argued that the claim of potential danger to lives could not be used to justify withholding records that might be subject to public disclosure.
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He also maintained that Nigerians were already bearing the consequences of the President’s economic policies.
The Presidency, however, recalled that as far back as February 4, 2003, the American Consulate in Lagos had written to then Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, stating that an FBI records check had found no criminal arrest records, wants or warrants for Tinubu, who was then governor of Lagos State.
The Presidency stressed that the current FOIA proceedings should not be interpreted as a finding of criminal wrongdoing against the President.
It said the legal battle was fundamentally about the extent to which records held by US government agencies could be disclosed under American law.
According to the statement, the plaintiff has until September 11, 2026, to file any opposition and reply to the processes filed by the defendants and intervenor.
The FBI, DEA and Tinubu, as intervenor, have until September 18 to respond to any processes filed by the plaintiff.