ABUJA, Nigeria — The Presidency of Nigeria clarified on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, that an ongoing Freedom of Information Act litigation involving Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, before a United States federal court is a civil records-disclosure dispute rather than a criminal proceeding.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, issued a statement confirming that the proceedings in Civil Action No. 23-1816 before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia have produced no findings of criminal wrongdoing. Golden Info reports that Bayo Onanuga stated the court granted summary judgment in favor of the Central Intelligence Agency, Executive Office for United States Attorneys, United States Department of State, United States Department of the Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service, removing them from the case.
The lawsuit originated from 2022 Freedom of Information Act requests filed by Aaron Greenspan seeking records from several United States government agencies regarding President Bola Tinubu. In response to the lawsuit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration produced 399 pages of records, applying redactions under statutory exemptions including grand jury confidentiality, the Pen Register Act, and legal privilege.
The Presidency noted that the litigation arises 23 years after the United States Consulate in Lagos, Nigeria, sent a letter dated February 4, 2003, to Nigeria’s former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, confirming that a Federal Bureau of Investigation check yielded no criminal arrest records, wants, or warrants for President Bola Tinubu.
In a separate political development in ABUJA, Nigeria, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, of planning to reintroduce fuel subsidies ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, released a statement alleging that the government is preparing to return to fuel subsidies after years of market-based pricing. Atiku Abubakar welcomed a call by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria for government intervention with domestic refiners to reduce petrol prices, stating that production-linked support aligns with his own energy policy principles.