US Court denies discovery request against President Tinubu

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has rejected a motion by transparency activist Aaron Greenspan seeking limited discovery from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and the DCI Group. The request sought to question the President and the consulting firm regarding alleged cyberattacks on Greenspan’s legal research website, PlainSite.

In its October 30 ruling, the court determined that the proposed inquiry into the alleged cyberattacks was not sufficiently relevant to the underlying Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation. That primary legal dispute involves requests for records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

In addition to denying the discovery request, the court rejected Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and a request for judicial notice. The judge also denied an application by nonparty Karl Von Batten to file an amicus curiae brief. Attorneys for the defense stated the ruling reinforces the necessity of keeping the FOIA proceedings focused on the specific legal questions before the court.