The FBI has turned down an application from Jeffrey Guterman, a retired mental health counsellor from the United States, asking for access to a file on Bola Tinubu, the president-elect of Nigeria.
In a tweet announcing the development on Friday, Guterman stated that the FBI had declined his request because “the existence of files on third-party individuals would neither be confirmed nor denied by the FBI due to unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Recall that the retired mental health counsellor had requested information from the FBI last month regarding Tinubu’s forfeiture of $460,000 for drug trafficking in the US.
Guterman was informed by the FBI, though, that his request submission did not adhere to their terms of service.
He wrote, “See below a copy of the letter I received today from the @FBI regarding my request, based on the Freedom of Information Act, for the FBI file on Bola Tinubu.
“My request was rejected because, according to the FBI, the existence of files on third-party individuals will neither be confirmed nor denied by the FBI due to unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
“I found it noteworthy that in my online submission, I referred to Tinubu as “Bola Tinubu,” but in their letter, the FBI referred to him as TINUBU, BOLA AHMED. How would the FBI access the Ahmed part of his name? Again, I did not provide the Ahmed part of his name in my submission. Moreover, it is public knowledge that the FBI has a file on Tinubu for his $460,000 forfeiture to the US.
“The letter also states that if I received their response through standard mail (which I did), this is because my online submission did not meet their terms of service. According to the letter, my options are to (1) submit any questions by email or call their office, (2) administratively appeal their decision within 90 days of the date of their letter, and/or (3) seek dispute resolution by email.
“I will now consider my next plan of action.”
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