Tinubu Scores Legal Victory as US Court Delivers Blow to Greenspan’s Bid in FBI, DEA Case

According to report by The Nation on Saturday, October 31, 2026, a United States federal court has rejected a request by Aaron Greenspan to obtain limited discovery from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and DCI Group in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia delivered the ruling on Friday, October 30, 2026, dismissing Greenspan’s application, which sought information from Tinubu and DCI Group concerning alleged cyberattacks on his website.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed the development in a statement posted on his verified X account.

According to Onanuga, the court found that the proposed discovery was not sufficiently relevant to the substantive questions at the heart of the FOIA dispute involving the FBI and DEA.

The decision means Greenspan could not use the alleged cyberattacks as part of the proceedings, with the court maintaining that the litigation should remain focused on matters directly related to the request for information from the two US federal law enforcement agencies.

The court also turned down Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment, as well as other applications connected to the case.

Among the rejected applications was one filed by Karl Von Batten, a non-party to the proceedings, seeking permission to submit an amicus curiae, or “friend-of-the-court,” brief.

Greenspan’s request for the court to take judicial notice of certain matters was also denied.

Reacting to the ruling, attorney Christopher W. Carmichael said the decision had reaffirmed the legal limits governing FOIA proceedings.

“The Court’s decision makes clear that this Freedom of Information Act proceeding cannot be used to pursue discovery unrelated to the legal questions before it,” Carmichael said.

He added that the refusal to permit discovery against Tinubu and DCI Group reinforced the importance of restricting the litigation to issues properly before the court.

Another lawyer, Oluwole Afolabi, said the decisions had established significant procedural boundaries for the case.

He noted that the court had rejected both Greenspan’s summary judgment application and the separate request for an amicus brief.

Afolabi said that although the substantive FOIA issues were still pending, the latest rulings had clarified the matters that could appropriately be considered as the litigation continues.

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