U.S. Court Case on Tinubu Declared Civil, Not Criminal

The Nigerian Presidency, represented by spokesman Bayo Onanuga, stated that the ongoing court case in the United States involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a civil matter, specifically a records-disclosure dispute under the Freedom of Information Act, and not a criminal case. Onanuga accused the opposition of misrepresenting the situation, which pertains to a civil forfeiture of funds by Tinubu during a 1993 investigation for drug-related offenses, prior to his election as governor of Lagos State.

He provided background, noting that in 2003, the American Consulate informed then Inspector General of Police Tafa Balogun that an FBI check found no criminal records for Tinubu. In 2022, Aaron Greenspan filed a civil action (No. 23-1816) in the U.S.

District Court after U.S. agencies withheld records. The court allowed Tinubu to intervene, and the CIA, EOUSA, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and IRS were removed from the proceedings.

The FBI and DEA produced 399 pages of records, with some redacted, which the plaintiff challenged.