US Firm Releases FBI Declaration Citing Criminal Investigation Involving Tinubu
E-ISSN: 2354-4481
By Grace Chidimma Ibe
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States — A US-based firm has released excerpts from a sworn declaration it says was submitted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a federal court on August 28, 2026, in an ongoing dispute over access to records concerning Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the excerpts published by the firm, the FBI stated that a criminal investigation involving Tinubu had already been officially acknowledged by the court.
The firm presented the filing as evidence that the investigation had been formally recognised in the court record, disputing claims that Tinubu had never been the subject of a criminal investigation.
The released portions of the declaration also reportedly reference allegations involving heroin trafficking and identify Tinubu in connection with the matter.
In explaining why some records were withheld, the FBI reportedly stated that “the responsive records herein were compiled in furtherance of the FBI’s investigation of multiple individuals for drug trafficking crimes,” while citing applicable law-enforcement exemptions for withholding investigative materials.
The firm said the declaration was released to challenge an assertion made a day earlier that Tinubu had not been criminally investigated and was relying only on privacy protections to prevent disclosure of records.
It described that assertion as inaccurate, arguing that the FBI's sworn court filing demonstrates that a criminal investigation involving the Nigerian president had been officially acknowledged.
The excerpts released by the firm concern the FBI's position in the records dispute. They do not, by themselves, establish the outcome of any investigation or constitute a finding of criminal wrongdoing against Tinubu.
The development comes amid continuing scrutiny over historical US records relating to the Nigerian president and renewed public debate over the nature and scope of information held by US law-enforcement authorities.
The dispute centres on requests for access to FBI records and the bureau's legal basis for withholding portions of investigative materials. The latest document release has intensified competing claims over whether Tinubu was formally investigated and what the underlying records contain.
