President Bola Tinubu has asked a United States court to block the release of records relating to past investigations allegedly involving him, arguing that disclosure would violate his privacy rights.

The challenge was filed in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan against the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Greenspan is seeking documents connected to investigations involving Tinubu, including the FBI’s entire file on the Nigerian president and FBI Form 302 interview records relating to the period between 1992 and 1993.

The case also concerns records associated with a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in the United States involving approximately $460,000 linked to Tinubu.

Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing.

In a 16-page court filing dated August 28, 2026, Tinubu’s lawyers, Christopher W. Carmichael, Victor P. Henderson and Oluwole O. Afolabi, argued that previous disclosures made during the forfeiture proceedings did not eliminate his privacy interests in the investigative records.

According to the legal team, the fact that some information may have previously appeared in public records does not mean that the government should be compelled to release an entire investigative file.

The lawyers cited a number of US court decisions, including a Supreme Court ruling in Reporters Committee, to argue that individuals retain privacy interests in information contained in government investigative files, even where portions of the information may have been publicly disclosed in the past.

They also cited Judicial Watch, Inc. v. United States Department of Justice, arguing that an individual may retain privacy rights even where they have previously been publicly associated with alleged criminal activity.

Tinubu’s lawyers further argued that Greenspan’s lawsuit was primarily aimed at obtaining government documents bearing the President’s name.

“Plaintiff’s filings, overwhelmingly, demonstrate that his singular focus is obtaining documents with Intervenor’s ‘name on them,’” the lawyers argued.

They urged the court to reject Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and allow the FBI and DEA to maintain their redactions or withholdings under relevant FOIA exemptions and the Privacy Act.

The legal battle centres on whether the US government can be compelled under FOIA to disclose records relating to a private individual who is now Nigeria’s president, and the extent to which privacy protections apply to such investigative materials.

The latest court filing does not by itself establish that Tinubu committed drug-related offences, rather, it is a legal challenge to the proposed disclosure of government records concerning alleged past investigations.