Tinubu’s Lawyers Admit Errors In US Court Filing, Seek Amendment

President Bola Tinubu’s legal team has asked a U.S. federal court for permission to replace an earlier filing after admitting it contained errors related to events from 1993 and references to the President’s public office.

The request was made in the ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Naija News reports.

The case, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Civil Action No. 23-1816 (BAH), centres on Greenspan’s efforts to obtain records from US government agencies concerning Tinubu and others. The case is a civil records-disclosure dispute, not a criminal prosecution against Tinubu.

In a motion filed on October 1, 2026, Tinubu’s lawyers asked the court to allow them to amend their earlier response to Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment.

The lawyers said the errors appeared in Part 1.c of the previous filing and involved references to 1993, Tinubu’s public office and a comparison involving student enrolment.

They explained that the section was meant to show that the investigative events under discussion, which occurred between 1988 and 1992, took place decades before Tinubu became President of Nigeria.

However, the lawyers acknowledged that the point was expressed “inadequately and incorrectly” in relation to the reference to public office and the year 1993.

They also admitted a separate mistake: comparing the age of the investigative records with a student-enrolment event.

According to the lawyers, the student-enrolment event actually happened before the investigative events being discussed, making the comparison inaccurate.

They said both mistakes were unintended and occurred during the drafting and revision of the court document.

“Both issues occurred during the drafting and revising process by the undersigned counsel, occurred unintendedly, and were not found and edited prior to filing,” the lawyers said.

They added that Greenspan later pointed out both errors in his reply.

Lawyers Say Main Argument Remains Unchanged

Despite acknowledging the mistakes, Tinubu’s lawyers said the corrections would not change the main argument contained in their earlier filing.

“In the proposed amended response, the substance of the argument in part 1.c remains unchanged,” they said.

The legal team maintained that Tinubu’s privacy interests in records concerning events from decades ago do not disappear simply because he later became President of Nigeria.

The lawyers also said they had discussed the proposed amendment with Greenspan and his lawyers before approaching the court.

According to the filing, Greenspan indicated that he did not oppose the correction.

Tinubu’s legal team therefore asked the judge to allow the amended response to replace the earlier filing identified as Document 98.

They also attached a proposed order for the judge’s consideration.

The attached document is marked “[Proposed] ORDER” and contains a space for the US District Judge’s signature. The documents therefore do not establish that the judge had already approved the request.

Tinubu Opposes Release Of Additional Records

The amended filing retains Tinubu’s substantive arguments against Greenspan’s request for additional FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) records.

Tinubu’s lawyers argue that information withheld or redacted by the agencies is protected under the law-enforcement privacy exemption in the US FOIA law and the Privacy Act. A previous court record confirms that the case involves requests to the FBI and DEA for investigative records concerning Tinubu and others.

They also maintain that the records relate to events that occurred before Tinubu became President and that his current position does not remove his privacy rights.

The latest motion therefore acknowledges errors in the lawyers’ earlier court filing, rather than a change to their underlying legal position.

Greenspan is seeking additional records from US agencies, including the FBI and DEA, through the Freedom of Information Act.

The records sought relate to investigations from the late 1980s and early 1990s involving Tinubu and others. Court records show that the case has been ongoing before the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Greenspan has also sought records connected to a 1993 US civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 linked to Tinubu.

Tinubu has denied wrongdoing. The Presidency has previously clarified that the proceedings are a civil FOIA dispute over access to government records and not a criminal case against the President.