The United States government has told a federal court that Nigerians have no right to freely access President Bola Tinubu’s past records, including any classified information.
This stance was made clear in a court memorandum filed by three major US agencies: the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This filing, revealed by journalist David Hundeyin on Tuesday, sparked reactions online.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia had previously denied an urgent request to force these agencies to release unfiltered information on Tinubu. Now, the US agencies have issued a formal response, arguing that removing redactions from records related to Tinubu’s alleged drug investigation could harm US security interests.
Hundeyin posted on social media, “Yesterday(Monday) in federal court, the CIA, FBI, and DEA filed a memorandum opposing our motion for summary judgment in the FOIA disclosure case about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s drug trafficking investigation records, where we are seeking to have the redactions removed from the (partially released) files.
“In the filing, the CIA effectively confirmed that Nigeria’s sitting president is an active CIA asset. An excerpt from the CIA filing reads:
“Human sources can be expected to furnish information to the CIA only when they are confident the CIA can and will do everything in its power to prevent the public disclosure of their cooperation. In the case of a person who has been cooperating with the CIA, official confirmation of that cooperation could cause the targets to take retaliatory action against that person or against their family or friends.”
The CIA argued that even confirming whether records exist could compromise the safety of intelligence sources connected to Tinubu.
The DEA also argued against releasing full, unedited files on Tinubu’s alleged heroin trafficking history, claiming, “We oppose full, unredacted disclosure of the DEA’s Bola Tinubu heroin trafficking investigation records because we believe that while Nigerians have a right to be informed about what their government is up to, they do not have a right to know what their president is up to.”
This development raises questions about the role of foreign intelligence in Nigerian politics, with Hundeyin suggesting the US government might contribute to the instability in Africa by supporting controversial leaders.
