A United States federal court has taken another step in a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case seeking the release of records allegedly linked to drug-trafficking allegations involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., disclosed in a post on X that Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia had granted the FBI permission to submit the disputed documents privately to the court for an in-camera review.
The firm said the judge also directed the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Justice (DOJ) and President Tinubu to file their objections to the release of the records by August 28, 2026.
According to the firm, the judge’s use of the phrase “and no later” suggested that the court was setting a firm deadline for the parties involved.
It added that the FBI would now have to justify why the records should remain undisclosed, including by allowing the judge to privately examine the sensitive materials.
The lobbying firm further claimed that the FBI had acknowledged holding sensitive information relating to allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu.
It argued that the agency’s request to submit the documents for private judicial review suggested that the records contained information it considered particularly sensitive.
The firm also alleged that some of the records could contain information relating to criminal informants, arguing that this would challenge earlier descriptions of the case as being limited to civil forfeiture proceedings.
“We have now been informed that US Court’s Judge Howell this morning granted the FBI permission to provide the court with the documents in private.
“This has not yet been published on the court docket as of this evening, and the claim is based solely on the law firm’s X post,” the post read.
However, the reported court development has not yet appeared on the official court docket, according to the firm itself.
The report had earlier stated that the FBI approached a US court seeking permission to withhold some records connected to an old investigation involving Tinubu from public disclosure.
BACKSTORY:
The development is the latest in a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case in the United States concerning records reportedly linked to an old investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
The case centres on efforts to obtain records held by US federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), relating to allegations that have previously been associated with Tinubu. The Nigerian president has not been found guilty of drug trafficking in connection with the records described in the case.
A Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., said Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia had permitted the FBI to submit certain documents to the court privately for an in-camera review.
An in-camera review allows a judge to examine sensitive documents privately before determining whether some or all of the material can be disclosed publicly.
The firm said the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Tinubu have until August 28, 2026, to present their arguments against the release of the records.
However, the firm acknowledged that the latest development had not yet appeared on the court’s public docket at the time of its post and said its account was based on information it had received.
The case has attracted attention because of the nature of the records being sought and the ongoing debate over whether the documents should be made available under the FOIA.
