The Nigerian president’s lawyers would work to file a full argument soonest in order to stand a chance of being able to argue any reliefs before the October 31 deadline.
President Bola Tinubu is in yet another scramble to block records relating to him from being disclosed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency and other United States services.
Court filings seen by Peoplesmind showed Mr Tinubu’s lawyers in the U.S. have filed motions to appear in an ongoing freedom of information action brought against the U.S. organisations where records that may help answer questions about the president’s real identity and decades-long endeavours are domiciled.
Christopher Carmichael, one of the lawyers who represented Mr Tinubu in the recent Chicago records case, filed the motion, dated October 18, 2023, stating that he was a lawyer in good standing to appear in the case in the FOIA lawsuit underway in Washington D.C., filings said.
“Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 83.2(c), Bryan A. Carey moves for the admission and appearance of attorney Christopher Carmichael pro hac vice in the above-entitled action,” Mr Carey, who practices in D.C., said on Mr Carmichael’s behalf. “This motion is supported by the Declaration of Christopher Carmichael. As set forth in Mr. Carmichael’s declaration, he is admitted and an active member in good standing.”
What informed Mr Tinubu’s expectation that he could block U.S. agencies from complying with federal disclosure regulations remained unclear. Mr Carmichael did not immediately return a request seeking comments, and the president’s lead lawyer in the U.S., Oluwole Afolabi, told zolexreporters he could not comment on the case until it has officially commenced. The lawyers would work to file a full argument soonest in order to stand a chance of being able to argue any reliefs before the October 31 deadline.
Mr Tinubu was alerted to the lawsuit when zolexreporters reported on September 11 that the FBI had agreed to turn over 2,500 pages of response information on the Nigerian leader.
Peoplesmind