Special Counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Aloy Ejimakor, has predicted that records concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from an old US investigation will eventually be made public, but with significant portions redacted.
Ejimakor made the claim on Tuesday while reacting to a US federal court’s decision to permit an ex parte review of sensitive records involving Tinubu in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.
According to him, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) could be seeking to withhold portions of the records under provisions of US law designed to protect individuals whose lives or physical safety could be endangered by disclosure.
In a statement titled “Analysing FBI’s Stonewall on President Tinubu’s US Records,” Ejimakor said the FBI had asked the court for permission to explain under seal why releasing certain records could endanger individuals or expose sensitive law-enforcement methods.
He cited FOIA Exemption 7(F), 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(F), which allows US law-enforcement agencies to withhold records where disclosure could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual.
Ejimakor suggested that the FBI could argue that disclosure may reveal the identities or personal details of confidential informants, cooperating witnesses or other individuals connected to an alleged drug-trafficking investigation dating back to the 1990s.
He also said the release of such information could potentially expose individuals or their relatives to retaliation, while identifying law-enforcement personnel mentioned in the records could create risks of harassment or physical targeting.
The lawyer further argued that the FBI’s request for an ex parte review indicates that even publicly explaining the reasons for withholding the records could compromise the interests the agency is seeking to protect.
Ejimakor, however, maintained that he expects the records to eventually be disclosed.
“In the end, Tinubu’s records will be disclosed, but significant portions will be redacted, hidden from view, leaving only details that will be of little or no political value,” he predicted.
The case remains subject to the proceedings before the US federal court, which will determine what portions of the records can legally be released under the FOIA.
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