President Bola Tinubu’s records held by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will eventually be made public but with significant portions withheld, according to Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu.
Ejimakor made the prediction while reacting to an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving records relating to Tinubu and allegations surrounding a drug-trafficking investigation in the United States.
The lawyer said the FBI had asked a US federal court for permission to explain confidentially why some of the records should not be released. The agency reportedly argued that disclosure could endanger individuals and reveal sensitive law-enforcement methods.
Ejimakor said one possible basis for the FBI’s position is the protection of confidential informants, cooperating witnesses and other individuals connected to investigations dating back to the 1990s. He argued that identifying such people or their relatives could expose them to harassment or retaliation.
He also pointed to the possible disclosure of the identities of law-enforcement officers whose names appear in the records. According to him, releasing operational information could also create risks for individuals who remain connected to the investigation, even decades after the events under review.
The lawyer cited the US FOIA’s Exemption 7(F), which permits law-enforcement records to be withheld where disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual. He also referenced previous US court decisions involving the protection of informants and law-enforcement personnel.
Ejimakor said the FBI’s request for an ex parte review — a process in which sensitive material is presented to the court without public disclosure — suggests that even explaining the agency’s concerns publicly could compromise the interests it is seeking to protect.
He ultimately predicted that the records would be released, but argued that substantial sections could be blacked out. “My prediction: In the end, Tinubu’s records will be disclosed, but significant portions will be redacted, hidden from view,” he said.
