President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has asked a United States federal court to block the release of records held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving investigations dating back to the early 1990s.

Tinubu’s legal team filed a 16-page court document on Friday, August 28, 2026, asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to reject a request by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan for the release of the records.

The development is part of a long-running legal battle over access to U.S. government records concerning investigations involving Tinubu during his time in the United States in the 1990s.

Greenspan filed the FOIA lawsuit against several U.S. government agencies after seeking records relating to investigations involving Tinubu. His requests include the FBI’s file on Tinubu and FBI Form 302 interview records covering the period between 1992 and 1993.

The case also concerns records connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving approximately $460,000 that was linked to Tinubu.

In the latest filing, Tinubu’s lawyers argued that the requested records are subject to privacy protections under U.S. law. They urged the court to reject Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and allow the FBI and DEA to maintain existing redactions and withholdings.

The FBI has separately argued that releasing some of the records could expose sensitive investigative information, including information that could identify confidential sources or reveal law-enforcement techniques. The agency recently asked the court for permission to explain some of its reasons for withholding information through confidential submissions reviewed privately by the judge.

Tinubu’s intervention follows an earlier court timetable requiring the FBI, DOJ, DEA and Tinubu to respond to Greenspan’s request by August 28, 2026.

The latest filing does not establish that Tinubu committed drug trafficking or any other criminal offence. The records being sought relate to allegations and U.S. investigations, while the 1993 matter referenced in the case was a civil forfeiture proceeding.

Tinubu has denied wrongdoing.

The court will determine which records, if any, can be released publicly and which portions may lawfully remain withheld or redacted.