Tinubu in jitters again as US court fixes new date on motion, despite his previous attempt to filibuster release
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
His previous filibusters notwithstanding, Bola Tinubu still faces exposure of his dealings in America as the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington has fixed September 3 to advance a motion to release or withhold his records held by security agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Anti-corruption campaigner Aaron Greenspan, an America, had teamed up with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin in 2022 to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the FBI to turn over Tinubu’s case files in their control, particularly his role in a narcotics-trafficking deal that made him forfeit $460,000 to the U.S. government in 1993.
The files were also expected to clarify decades-long controversies over hi background, including the name, age, and gender under which he entered the US in the 1970s.
Tinubu did not clear these burdens in Nigerian courts before, and has not done so since, he became Nigeria’s President, despite court papers filed by members of opposition parties who alleged he is too soiled, incompetent, and secretive to rule the country.
The FBI in September 2023 granted Greenspan’s request to release Tinubu’s records, numbering 2,500 pages, which the FBI said would be released in monthly batches of 500 pages from October 2023.
He stoutly resisted the move, pleading with the court he would be “adversely affected” if his records were to be in the public domain.
Greenspan tried unsuccessfully to expedite the release of the files before the Nigerian Supreme Court could deliver judgment on the dispute over Tinubu’s election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
US Judge Beryl Howell in November 2023 allowed Tinubu to oppose his records from being released, saying he had a right to protect his interest given his claim that he would be “adversely affected.”
On 6 June 2024, Howell asked the opposing parties (Greenspan and Tinubu) to submit a joint status report latest September 3 in furtherance of the matter.
“Upon consideration of the parties’ joint status report, directing the parties to submit another joint status report by September 3, 2024, advising the court whether any disputes remain between the parties, and if so, proposing a schedule to govern further proceedings,” Howell ruled.
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Insecurity rubbishes Tinubu’s inaugural speech to spew mass atrocities
Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda a scam for hopelessness, Northern elder fumes
Suswam reiterates Tinubu lacks capacity to change Nigeria into a productive country
Akintoye insists Yoruba Nation wants ‘separate country’, not restructuring Nigeria, a failed state
__________________________________________________________________