Fresh details have emerged in the US legal battle over records relating to President Bola Tinubu, with a lobbying firm claiming that an FBI court filing references sensitive wiretap material linked to the Nigerian President.
Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C. made the claim in a statement posted on its X account while commenting on the FBI’s recent filing before a US federal court.
The firm said the FBI had asked the court to block the release of what it described as highly sensitive “wiretap” recordings contained in records responsive to requests concerning Tinubu.
“Update: In the @FBI filing before the court, the FBI asked the court not to allow the disclosure of highly sensitive ‘wiretap’ recordings responsive to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu,” the firm said.
According to the lobbying firm, the FBI filing stated that the wiretap-related records were compiled during an investigation involving several individuals suspected of heroin-trafficking crimes.
The firm went further in its interpretation of the filing, claiming that the documents suggested Tinubu could be heard on recordings connected to the investigation.
“In our plain-English reading of the document, the FBI has Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on tape connected to heroin-trafficking crimes,” it claimed.
The firm said the FBI had invoked FOIA Exemption 3 and Sections 2510–2520 of Title 18 of the US Code, which govern federal wiretap protections, in its attempt to keep the material from being released.
It said the FBI was relying on the law to protect the identities of people targeted for interception as well as information obtained through the wiretaps.
The lobbying firm also challenged the privacy argument being advanced by the FBI, referring to a passage on pages 19 and 20 of Document 100-1 in which the agency reportedly stated that “privacy concerns are typically obviated once an individual is deceased.”
The firm acknowledged that its identification of Tinubu as the only living targeted person was speculative.
“We are speculating, but the only targeted person we believe is alive in that case is Nigerian President Bola #Tinubu,” it said.
The firm is asking the court to reject the FBI’s position and order the release of the disputed recordings.
“We truly hope that the court puts aside the FBI’s argument and orders the release of the wiretap material,” it said.
It added, “If Nigerian President Tinubu is on those wiretap tapes connected to #heroin trafficking, the American people, the @realDonaldTrump Administration, Congress, and the #Nigerian people deserve to know what those tapes contain.”
The development comes amid an ongoing Freedom of Information Act case before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia involving requests for records concerning Tinubu from US government agencies.
The Presidency has repeatedly insisted that the proceedings should not be presented as a criminal case against the Nigerian leader.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the litigation is focused on whether certain government records should be released under US freedom-of-information laws.
“For clarity, the matter is a civil records-disclosure dispute under the United States Freedom of Information Act. It is not a criminal case against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, nor has the court found him guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Onanuga said.
The Presidency said the dispute began after Aaron Greenspan filed FOIA requests in 2022 seeking records relating to Tinubu.
After some US agencies withheld records or declined to confirm or deny whether particular documents existed, Greenspan commenced a federal court action in Washington, DC, in 2023.
Tinubu was subsequently permitted to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor.
The Presidency said the FBI and DEA remain central to the outstanding dispute after other agencies obtained rulings in their favour.
It said the two agencies had produced 399 pages of records in compliance with court orders, although portions were redacted.
Greenspan has challenged the redactions, while the FBI and DEA have argued that some of the information is protected under US law.
The agencies have cited protections relating to grand jury proceedings, court orders, privileged communications, law enforcement information, personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.
Tinubu has also invoked FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects certain personal information contained in law enforcement records.
“The release or withholding of records under FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability,” the Presidency said. “The case concerns access to government records and the proper application of statutory exemptions.”
The dispute has attracted increasing political attention because of the activities of Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., which has been campaigning for the release of the records.
The Washington-based lobbying firm has been linked to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is seeking the presidency in 2027 on the platform of the African Democratic Congress.
The firm has also made allegations concerning an alleged attempt by people connected to Tinubu to offer one of its senior officials $3m in connection with the records.