A United States District Court judge has ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to disclose documents relating to a criminal investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and alleged drug trafficking activities in the early 1990s.
In a ruling issued on April 8, 2025, Judge Beryl Howell of the District Court for the District of Columbia directed the two agencies to search for and process all non-exempt records responsive to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by American researcher Aaron Greenspan.
Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023, seeking information on a Chicago-based drug ring and individuals linked to it, including Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
The FBI and DEA had initially responded with “Glomar responses,” declining to confirm or deny the existence of relevant records. However, the court found that such responses were unjustified in this case.
“The FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring,” the court stated. “Any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests… are overcome by the public interest in the release of such information.”
Judge Howell ruled that the agencies failed to establish a valid privacy interest in withholding the information, thereby not meeting the legal threshold required to maintain their Glomar responses.
While the court upheld the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Glomar response as valid, it granted summary judgment in Greenspan’s favour against both the FBI and DEA. The court has ordered the agencies to move forward with a comprehensive search and release of responsive, non-exempt materials.
“The CIA, meanwhile, is entitled to judgment in its favor in this case,” the ruling added.
All parties involved in the case have been directed to file a joint status report on any outstanding matters by May 2, 2025.
This development marks a significant step in a long-running effort to obtain information concerning President Tinubu’s alleged connections to narcotics trafficking during his time in the United States.
