A United States federal court has authorised the Federal Bureau of Investigation to submit documents relating to an old investigation involving President Bola Tinubu for confidential review.
The development occurred in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act case seeking access to records reportedly linked to allegations of drug trafficking involving the Nigerian President.
Washington-based lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., disclosed the development in a post on X on Friday, saying Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia had approved the FBI’s request to provide the documents to the court privately.
The process, known as an in-camera review, allows a judge to examine sensitive government records away from public view before determining whether they should be disclosed.
The firm said Howell had set August 28, 2026, as the deadline for the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Justice and Tinubu to oppose the release of the records.
It said the judge’s directive that the deadline be met “and no later” suggested that the court would not entertain further delays.
The lobbying firm said the FBI would be expected to demonstrate why the records should remain confidential while the judge examines the documents privately.
According to the firm, the FBI had acknowledged holding sensitive material connected to allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu.
It further alleged that some of the records might contain information relating to criminal informants, arguing that this could have implications for how the investigation had previously been characterised.
The firm also claimed that the development appeared to go beyond the description of the matter as solely a civil forfeiture case.
However, it acknowledged that the court had not yet entered the latest decision on its public docket as of Friday evening.
The firm said its account of the ruling was based on information it had received and its post on X.
“We have now been informed that US Court’s Judge Howell this morning granted the FBI permission to provide the court with the documents in private,” the firm said.
It added, “This has not yet been published on the court docket as of this evening, and the claim is based solely on the law firm’s X post.”
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The latest development follows an earlier request by the FBI asking the court to permit it to withhold some records relating to its past investigation linked to Tinubu.
The court’s decision to conduct an in-camera review does not amount to a finding that the allegations against Tinubu are true. Rather, the process is aimed at determining whether the records can be released under the provisions of the US Freedom of Information Act.
