US Court Directs FBI, DEA to Disclose Tinubu Investigation Records

Published

4 days ago

14/04/2025

A United States District Court in Washington, D.C., has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release records related to a past criminal probe involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a ruling issued on April 8, 2025, and published on the court’s website, Judge Beryl Howell instructed both agencies to locate and process any non-exempt documents in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted by American legal researcher Aaron Greenspan.

Greenspan, the founder of the transparency-focused legal platform PlainSite, had filed 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023. His inquiry centered on a drug trafficking network that reportedly operated out of Chicago in the early 1990s. Among the individuals named in the request were President Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.

Previously, the FBI and DEA had refused to confirm or deny whether records existed, issuing what is known as a “Glomar response.” However, the court found this approach to be inappropriate in this case.

Judge Howell stated that both agencies had “officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring,” and that the public interest in transparency outweighed any potential privacy concerns. The ruling emphasized that the agencies failed to demonstrate that Tinubu had any valid privacy claim that should prevent the disclosure of such records.

“The FBI and DEA have provided no information to establish that a cognizable privacy interest exists in keeping secret the fact that Tinubu was a subject of criminal investigation,” Judge Howell ruled. “They have failed to meet their burden to sustain their Glomar responses.”

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Consequently, both the FBI and DEA are now required to search their records and process any responsive, non-exempt documents relating to the Tinubu drug investigation. The court also directed all involved parties to submit a joint status report on any unresolved matters by May 2, 2025.

While the court ruled against the FBI and DEA, it upheld the Glomar response issued by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after Greenspan accepted that the agency had acknowledged the existence of relevant records.

The judge concluded, “The plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment as to each of the four Glomar responses asserted by defendants FBI and DEA. The CIA, meanwhile, is entitled to summary judgment, since its Glomar response was properly asserted.”

This legal development adds a new layer of scrutiny to the long-standing allegations surrounding President Tinubu’s past, particularly as public demand grows for greater accountability and transparency in governance.

Aaron Greenspan, in response to the judgment, reiterated the importance of public access to government-held information. “This is a win for transparency,” he said. “The public has a right to know the truth about individuals who hold high offices, especially when serious allegations are involved.”