30th October, 2023
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have declined request to make public documents relating to President Bola Tinubu.
The two U.S. agencies said Tinubu has “privacy rights that should be considered”.
Responding to a motion by Aaron Greenspan, an American who is seeking a reconsideration of an ealier ruling, the law enforcement agencies said the plaintiff is merely seeking to reargue his position on which the court has already ruled.
The agencies asked the court to deny the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration.
The Court properly characterized that motion as a motion for a temporary restraining order and determined that plaintiff did not satisfy his burden of showing that he would succeed on the merits as to FOIA exemptions and irreparable injury is likely, and the balance of equities favor him or granting the motion would further the public interest because Tinubu has privacy interests that should be considered,” the agencies said in their response to Greenspan’s motion.
The development comes after the US court for the district of Columbia rejected an emergency request by Greenspan on the release of the confidential information about Tinubu.
Greenspan, in the application had sought to compel the FBI, CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to hasten the release of Tinubu’s dossier.
Declining the request, Beryl Howell, the district judge, had said Greenspan did not meet the preconditions for granting a request of that nature.
The judge said the request “may be of a highly sensitive and private nature” and that “the subject of those documents, Bola A. Tinubu, has had no opportunity to protect his privacy interests in any 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.