By Milcah Tanimu
The United States District Court of Columbia has denied a request to compel several government agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to release information regarding President Bola Tinubu. The request was made by Aaron Greenspan in an emergency motion.
Greenspan had sought the immediate release of documents from agencies like the CIA, FBI, and IRS, stating that these documents were needed for the Nigerian Supreme Court’s hearing of appeals filed by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi against Tinubu. He emphasized the urgency due to the Supreme Court’s scheduling of the appeals hearing on October 23.
However, the US court, presided over by Judge Beryl A. Howell, declined Greenspan’s request. The judge ruled that he failed to satisfy the necessary conditions for granting such an emergency hearing motion, which he had submitted on Monday.
In the civil suit with case number 23-1816, Greenspan also requested similar information and documents related to Mueez Adegboyega Akande, who was reported to have passed away on November 16, 2022.
The US court justified its rejection of the motion by stating that Greenspan did not demonstrate the public interests that would justify setting aside President Tinubu’s privacy rights.
In response to these developments, lawyers representing President Tinubu have filed a motion with the court, seeking permission to defend him in the lawsuit.
