Atiku to FBI: Don’t Shield Tinubu With Secrecy – Nigerians Are Already Paying With Their Lives

Atiku to FBI: Don’t Shield Tinubu With Secrecy – Nigerians Are Already Paying With Their Lives

Former Vice President challenges U.S. agency’s claim that releasing records could “endanger lives,” arguing citizens face daily threats from hardship and insecurity.

ABUJA, Nigeria – Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has issued a sharp challenge to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), urging the agency to release any legally disclosable records concerning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Atiku argues that invoking potential danger to lives should not be used to shield information of legitimate public interest from Nigerians already grappling with severe economic and security crises.

The demand follows an FBI application filed on August 20, 2026, before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The agency is seeking permission to submit an ex parte, in camera declaration—meaning a private explanation to the judge, not the public—to justify withholding portions of records from the 1990s that are being sought under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FBI stated that publicly disclosing the full reasons for withholding the information could expose sensitive law enforcement techniques and procedures and could “reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”

Reacting in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku dismissed the FBI’s argument as difficult to reconcile with the daily realities in Nigeria. “The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying,” Atiku said. He pointed to the widespread insecurity and economic hardship that have worsened since President Tinubu assumed office, linking the suffering directly to the removal of the fuel subsidy. Atiku argued that the policy has triggered a chain reaction of rising transportation costs, food prices, and production expenses, placing immense pressure on households.

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“Fuel affects transportation. Transportation affects food prices. Energy affects production. Production affects jobs. All of them determine whether an ordinary Nigerian family can survive until the end of the month,” he stated. “Families that once managed three meals now struggle for one. Parents cannot afford medicines for sick children. Breadwinners are buckling under debt and unbearable economic pressure. This is the human cost of Tinubu’s senseless removal of fuel subsidy without a credible plan to protect ordinary Nigerians,” the statement added. Atiku reiterated his position that the fuel subsidy would return under his watch, but with safeguards. He described his proposed approach as targeted, transparently financed, capped, and independently audited to prevent corruption.

Addressing the FBI directly, Atiku made it clear that his demand does not extend to exposing confidential sources or sensitive investigative methods. “Protect your agents. Protect your sources. Protect legitimate investigative methods. Redact whatever American law genuinely requires you to redact. But do not stretch those protections until they become a bulletproof vest for Tinubu,” he said. Atiku framed his request as a democratic appeal, not an attempt to interfere in Nigeria’s politics. He insisted that Nigerians have a right to know the history and character of the person occupying the country’s highest office.

“Nigerians are not asking America to conduct our democracy for us. We are saying that American secrecy laws must not inadvertently become a sanctuary from accountability in Nigeria,” Atiku said. He concluded with a direct message to the FBI: “Protect your investigators. Protect your sources. Protect your methods. But do not protect the truth from Nigerians. Our people are already paying for bad governance with their lives.”

The ongoing legal dispute stems from FOIA requests filed by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite. Greenspan is seeking FBI records related to President Tinubu, including the bureau’s complete file on him and interview reports (FBI Form 302s) from a case dating back to 1992 and 1993. The requests are linked to historical investigations involving a Chicago-based drug ring. In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled against the FBI’s use of a “Glomar” response, which had allowed the agency to refuse to confirm or deny the records’ existence. She ordered the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to search for and process non-exempt records.

The FBI’s latest application seeks to privately explain why certain exemptions, particularly Exemptions 7(E) and 7(F), apply to specific withholdings. These exemptions protect law enforcement techniques and information that could endanger individuals. If the court grants the request, the FBI has indicated it will submit its confidential declaration by August 28, 2026. Meanwhile, President Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and his legal team is reportedly reviewing developments in the case.

Atiku to FBI: Don’t Shield Tinubu With Secrecy – Nigerians Are Already Paying With Their Lives