Tinubu Not Facing US Criminal Charges — Presidency Calls FOIA Suit a Civil Dispute

The Nigerian Presidency has officially refuted allegations that President Bola Tinubu is undergoing a criminal trial in the United States, clarifying that the legal matter is solely a civil records-disclosure issue.

In a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the administration underscored that the case currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia pertains to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has not yielded any evidence of criminal misconduct by the President.

The lawsuit was filed by American transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan, who sought records related to President Tinubu from various U.S. government entities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The FBI and DEA have provided 399 pages of documents directly to Judge Beryl Howell for examination. However, substantial portions of these records remain withheld or redacted in accordance with statutory U.S. exemptions.

Government agencies and President Tinubu's legal representatives have invoked FOIA exemptions to prevent the unredacted release of these documents. These protections pertain to personal privacy, grand jury proceedings, confidential sources, and law enforcement investigative methods.

The court has yet to decide whether the federal agencies are legally justified in maintaining the current redactions or if additional disclosures will be required.

The Presidency asserts that the public discourse surrounding the court filings misrepresents the nature of the civil litigation, reiterating that the records being requested originate from a matter that is decades old and did not lead to an indictment.