PRESIDENCY CLARIFIES TINUBU’S FOIA CASE IN US COURT
By: Safiya Abdulrahim Dabban
The Presidency has clarified that the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the United States is a civil records-disclosure matter and not a criminal case.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the US court has neither found Tinubu guilty of criminal wrongdoing nor charged him with a crime.
Onanuga said the case followed FOIA requests made in 2022 for records relating to Tinubu. He explained that the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration later released 399 pages of documents, with some portions redacted under US law.
According to him, the ongoing dispute centres on the release of additional records and the redactions made by the agencies.
The Presidential aide stressed that the release or withholding of documents under the FOIA does not establish criminal liability.
He urged the media and the public to rely on verified court proceedings and avoid misleading interpretations of the case.