A U.S. federal judge has ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release investigative records relating to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in connection with a purported narcotics trafficking investigation from the 1990s.
The ruling was first reported by Premium Times, which obtained court documents showing that Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia rejected attempts by the FBI and DEA to withhold the records under the “Glomar response” — a policy that allows agencies to neither confirm nor deny the existence of requested information.
“The claim that the Glomar responses were necessary to protect this information from public disclosure is at this point neither logical nor plausible,” Judge Howell ruled, stating that the agencies failed to meet the legal standards under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The case was filed by American transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite.org, who had submitted a series of FOIA requests in 2023 to various U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
These requests sought records tied to a heroin trafficking network allegedly involving Tinubu and others, including Mueez Akande, Abiodun Agbele, and Lee Andrew Edwards.
The agencies initially refused the requests, citing exemptions tied to privacy and national security.
However, Judge Howell found that the public interest in potentially revealing a sitting president’s links to a criminal investigation outweighed the stated concerns.
Court documents referenced by Premium Times include a 1993 affidavit from IRS Special Agent Kevin Moss, which alleged that Tinubu’s U.S. bank accounts were used to launder proceeds from heroin sales in the Chicago area.
The U.S. government at the time sought to seize over $460,000 linked to those accounts.
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President Tinubu intervened in the lawsuit in 2023 to block the release of certain records, claiming a violation of his privacy.
But the judge dismissed that argument, writing, “The public interest in learning about a sitting president’s possible connection to a major drug investigation is undeniably significant.”
While the CIA successfully maintained its Glomar defense—arguing that confirming or denying any records could harm national security—the court ordered the FBI, DEA, and other agencies to file a joint status report on remaining issues by May 2.
The 1993 forfeiture case and allegations around Tinubu’s past resurfaced during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential campaign, with opposition figures questioning his eligibility.
However, Nigeria’s election tribunal ultimately dismissed the legal challenges.
Responding to the ruling, Greenspan said: “Transparency must prevail over secrecy when it comes to public officials. The American public, as well as Nigerians, deserve to know the truth.”
The case, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al, continues at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.