A US federal court has received a request from political adviser and lobbyist Dr Karl Von Batten to join an ongoing Freedom of Information Act case involving records linked to President Bola Tinubu.
The request has been added to the court’s official records. However, this does not mean the court has approved it or agreed with the arguments in the filing.
Von Batten-Montague-York, the political advisory and lobbying firm linked to Von Batten, announced the development on its verified X account.
The firm said Von Batten’s request to submit a brief as a friend of the court, along with additional evidence, had been officially filed in Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-01816-BAH.
Von Batten wants the court to consider statements made by Nigerian government officials and others connected to the Presidency about the dispute.
The case concerns requests for records held by US agencies, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Tinubu has claimed privacy rights over some of the records.
Von Batten says the public comments made by Nigerian officials about the records and the case are important to the privacy arguments being presented in court.
The firm said it wants the judge to consider the material because it believes the Presidency should not publicly discuss the issue while also asking the court to keep related information private.
However, the court has not yet decided whether Von Batten can take part in the case as a friend of the court. Adding the request to the docket only means the court has officially received it and will now consider it.
The judge will decide whether to approve or reject the request.