In a recent development, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have declined a request to make information about President Bola Tinubu public, citing his privacy rights. The decision came in response to a motion filed by Aaron Greenspan, an American seeking reconsideration of a prior ruling.*
The law enforcement agencies argued that the plaintiff was attempting to reargue a position on which the court had already ruled. They requested that the court deny Greenspan’s motion for reconsideration, asserting that Tinubu’s privacy interests must be taken into account.*
This decision follows the rejection of an emergency request by Greenspan in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Greenspan had sought to compel the FBI, CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to expedite the release of Tinubu’s dossier.*
In her refusal to grant the request, District Judge Beryl Howell noted that the requested information may be highly sensitive and private in nature. She highlighted that Bola A. Tinubu, the subject of the documents, had not been given an opportunity to protect his privacy interests in such records.*
Greenspan had accused the law enforcement agencies of violating the Freedom of Information Act by not releasing the confidential information within the stipulated time.*
