FBI Warns That Releasing Tinubu Files Could “Endanger Life”, Requests Private Court Review

By Osaro Michael, Benin

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court in Washington, D.C. to allow it to file confidential statements in secret to justify keeping records about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hidden from public view.

In a 4-page motion filed on August 20, 2026 in the case _Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, et al., Civil Action No. 23-1816 (BAH) before Judge Beryl Howell, the FBI requested permission to submit its declarations “ex parte” and “in camera.”

This means the FBI wants to present evidence to the judge privately, without the other party or the public seeing it, as part of the U.S. government’s push for summary judgment in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.

The disputed records include Tinubu’s FBI file and interview reports from the 1990s.

One FOIA request, No. 1588244-000, asked for “the entire FBI file on Bola Ahmed Tinubu, DOB 3/29/1952, President-Elect of Nigeria as of February 2023.”
Another, No. 1593615-000, requested “FBI 302 interview reports with Bola Tinubu from FBI Case No. 245-IP-71386-UUUUUU between 1992-1993.”

In its filing, the FBI stated it withheld the information based on several FOIA exemptions: 6, 7(C), 7(D), 7(E) and 7(F). The bureau argued that making the records public could “endanger life.”