A United States federal court has approved a request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to privately submit documents related to an old drug-trafficking investigation involving Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, marking the latest development in a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case.

According to a post on X by Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C., Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FBI permission on Friday to provide the documents to the court for an in-camera (private) review. The firm stated that the judge has given the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and President Tinubu until August 28, 2026, to file their opposition to the release of the records.

Von Batten-Montague-York described the court’s “and no later” language as an indication that the judge has reached her limit of patience with the proceedings. The firm further argued that the FBI’s request for private judicial review suggests the material contains information the agency considers particularly sensitive, potentially involving criminal informants. According to the firm, this development contradicts previous characterizations of the matter as being solely related to civil forfeiture.

The firm noted that the FBI had acknowledged possessing highly sensitive information related to allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu. With the court’s approval, the agency must now convince the court why the documents should not be released, including through its private submission of the sensitive material for judicial review.

The development has not yet appeared on the court docket, and the claim currently rests solely on the firm’s social media post. Meziesblog had earlier reported that the FBI asked a U.S. court to allow it to keep some records concerning an old investigation linked to Tinubu from public disclosure.