Oluwole Afolabi, a U.S.-based senior advocate of Nigerian descent, has obtained approval to represent President Bola Tinubu and argue against the release of his FBI records in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. 

Judge Beryl Howell, on July 9, okayed Mr Afolabi’s request to defend the Nigerian leader in a matter about the release of his records with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and CIA.

The president, who has fiercely opposed efforts to release his records, hired Mr Afolabi on his legal team. The Nigerian lawyer was no stranger to Mr Tinubu’s legal woes, given that he represented the president during the Chicago State University certificate forgery scandal back in 2023. 

The application for him to appear pro hac vice was sponsored by Bryan Carey, another lawyer on the Tinubu team who is based in D.C. The application was filed on July 2 and approved on July 7.

“Oluwole Olawale Afolabi may enter an appearance pro hac vice for the purpose of representing the intervenor in this matter,” Judge Beryl A. Howell said on July 7, 2025.

Pro hac vice means that, although Mr Afolabi was not admitted to practise law in Washington, DC, he would be allowed to defend the Nigerian president only in this case.

The parties are expected to file a joint status report on the matter by August 7.

This case was initiated by Aaron Greenspan in collaboration with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin, seeking the release of records held by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies regarding the Nigerian president.

In 2023, the FBI announced its decision to release the president’s records, which numbered approximately 2,500 pages, in batches of 500 pages per month. However, an objection by the Nigerian leader stalled the case. 

Judge Howell had in April authorised the CIA to ignore request from entities demanding the release of Mr Tinubu’s recordsafter the agency issued a “Glomar response” to neither confirm nor deny being in possession of the Nigerian leader’s information.

Ms Howell said the FBI and other agencies, except the CIA, were hesitant to release Mr Tinubu’s files but admitted that all joint-status filings showed the agencies complied with freedom of information inquiries and released all documents they deemed relevant to whether Mr Tinubu was once a subject of their investigation. 

She, however, expanded the scope of records that should be released, extending it to information beyond Mr Tinubu’s forfeiture of $460,000 in a drug trafficking scandal in the 1990s that tainted his 2023 election.

“The FBI and DEA must search for and process non-exempt records responsive to the FOIA requests directed to these agencies,” she said. 

Mr Afolabi is expected to put up a robust defence to shield the Nigerian leader’s record from getting out.