Tinubu’s Lawyer Defends Bid to Block Release of US Drug Trafficking Records
A member of President Bola Tinubu’s legal team has defended the Nigerian leader’s decision to challenge the release of United States government records connected to long-standing allegations of drug trafficking, insisting that pursuing the legal challenge is a right available to him under the American legal system rather than an admission of any wrongdoing.
Speaking to BBC News Pidgin, Tinubu’s lawyer, Chris Carmichael, said the president’s legal action was intended to protect rights available to him as a participant in ongoing US court proceedings. “Like every other person participating in the American legal system, President Tinubu has the right to exercise his rights or waive them,” Carmichael said, adding that failing to exercise those rights at this stage could mean losing them permanently.
The legal challenge stems from a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan against several US government agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Executive Office for US Attorneys. Greenspan’s requests reportedly include the FBI’s entire file on Tinubu, FBI Form 302 interview records covering the period between 1992 and 1993, and records connected to a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the United States involving approximately $460,000 linked to Tinubu.
In a 16-page court filing submitted on Friday, August 28, before Judge Beryl A. Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, Tinubu’s legal team, comprising Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi, argued that releasing the disputed records could infringe on the president’s right to privacy. The filing reportedly cited US Supreme Court precedent to argue that an individual retains a privacy interest in an entire file or document, even where scattered pieces of information from that same file have previously become public. According to the filing, the earlier partial disclosure of information during the 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding does not, by itself, eliminate Tinubu’s privacy interest in the broader investigative files now being sought.
In a separate interview with Channels Television, another member of Tinubu’s legal team, Wole Afolabi, SAN, further defended the legal strategy, arguing that the allegations against the president remain speculative and that the Freedom of Information Act should not be used as a tool to extract personal information about political figures or candidates. He maintained that Tinubu’s team was acting strictly within the confines of US law in pursuing the challenge.
Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the allegations. The dispute forms part of a broader, long-running legal battle in the United States over historical records tied to investigations involving the Nigerian president, with the FBI having separately filed an application on August 20, 2026, seeking permission to submit a sealed, ex parte declaration explaining privately to the court why certain records were withheld. As of the time of reporting, the matter remains before the US District Court for the District of Columbia, with the court yet to rule on the competing arguments over transparency, privacy and the handling of sensitive law-enforcement information.
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