The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has submitted records relating to a 1993 US investigation involving President Bola Tinubu to Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
According to reports, the FBI hand-delivered the documents to the court on Friday, August 28, 2026, asking that they remain under seal while the judge reviews them.
The submission followed a court order directing the bureau to provide the records in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by transparency campaigner Aaron Greenspan.
Greenspan filed the FOIA case in 2023 seeking access to historical US government records concerning Tinubu. Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin has also been involved in efforts to obtain the documents.
The FBI submitted the records under seal for an ex parte, in camera review, meaning the documents were provided privately to the judge without being immediately released to the parties seeking access.
The submission was made in compliance with a minute order issued by Judge Howell on August 20.
Judge Howell had reportedly given the FBI August 28 as the final deadline to comply after expressing concerns over the bureau’s repeated delays in producing the requested records.
The latest development means that the documents are currently with the judge and have not been released to Greenspan.
The dispute centres on historical records concerning Tinubu’s dealings with US authorities during the 1990s, including a 1993 civil forfeiture case involving hundreds of thousands of dollars linked to him.
The FBI has previously argued that releasing some of the requested records could infringe on Tinubu’s privacy rights and potentially expose sensitive law enforcement information.
The bureau has also maintained that the FOIA framework provides access to government records but does not necessarily require agencies to disclose private information about individuals contained within investigative files.
Tinubu has separately opposed the release of the records.
His legal team has argued that disclosure could infringe on his privacy and suggested that political opponents could use information contained in the documents to damage his reputation ahead of elections.
The controversy has continued despite the release of some historical documents by another US federal court.
In 2023, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois released documents detailing aspects of Tinubu’s dealings with American authorities in connection with the allegations.
Tinubu has denied wrongdoing, while the current FOIA proceedings concern whether historical US government records should be disclosed to the public.
The latest submission does not mean the disputed records have been released. Judge Howell must still determine what information, if any, can be made public under US law.
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