By Louis Achi
Judge Beryl A. Howell of the US District Court of Columbia has declined a request to compel the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA; Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI; and Internal Revenue Service, IRS, to release information on Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A certain Aaron Greenspan had filed the emergency motion seeking to compel the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (“EOUSA”), the Department of State, FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the CIA to immediately release the documents following the Nigerian Supreme Court’s hearing of appeals from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party’s Peter Obi against Tinubu.
Greenspan pleaded for a quick release of the documents because they needed to be presented at the Nigerian Supreme Court.
He told the court that the Supreme Court deliberately moved the hearing of the appeals by Atiku and Obi to October 23 to render his suit before the US court nugatory.
He had asked that the documents on Tinubu be released to him latest October 31.
Ruling on the appeal, Judge Beryl A. Howell declined Greenspan’s request on the grounds that he failed to satisfy the relevant conditions for the grant of such a prayer contained in a motion for emergency hearing, which he filed on Monday.
In the civil suit, with number: 23-1816, Greenspan is also asking for similar information and documents on Mueez Adegboyega Akande, who is said to have died as of November 16, 2022.
In rejecting his motion for immediate release of the documents, the US court said Greenspan failed to convince the court of the public issues that could cause it to overlook the privacy rights of President Tinubu.
Meanwhile, Tinubu’s lawyers have filed a motion at the court seeking to be allowed to defend the President in the suit.
