Faith Nyasuguta
A U.S. court has ordered two major American law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to release documents related to an old investigation involving Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This decision follows a lawsuit filed by an American, Aaron Greenspan, who demanded access to the records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia delivered the ruling. She stated that the U.S. government’s refusal to even confirm or deny the existence of such records was not reasonable or believable anymore. She ruled that the FBI and DEA must now acknowledge and process the FOIA requests concerning Tinubu and another individual named Abiodun Agbele.
Background if the Case
Aaron Greenspan filed the lawsuit in June 2023. He had submitted FOIA requests to six U.S. government agencies: the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of State, and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA). He was seeking documents related to alleged investigations into President Tinubu and others connected to a drug trafficking ring in the early 1990s.
Greenspan claimed the agencies had ignored the legal timeline for responding to his requests. In return, the agencies gave “Glomar responses,” which means they refused to confirm or deny whether the records even exist. Greenspan appealed, but the U.S. Department of Justice supported the agencies’ stance. So, he took the matter to court.
Judge Howell found that at least two agencies, the FBI and DEA, had already indirectly acknowledged Tinubu’s involvement in a past investigation. This made their continued refusal to respond “neither logical nor plausible.” She said since it was already publicly known that Tinubu was under investigation in the past, the secrecy around these documents was no longer justifiable.
The judge did not side with Greenspan in all areas, though. She ruled in favor of the CIA, saying Greenspan failed to prove that the spy agency had ever officially acknowledged the existence of records related to Tinubu.
A Deeper Look at Tinubu’s History
The controversy dates back to 1993, when Bola Tinubu reportedly forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government. The money was said to be connected to proceeds from heroin trafficking in the Chicago area. U.S. authorities never charged Tinubu with a crime, but the case has continued to draw attention, especially after he was elected Nigeria’s president in 2023.
During Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, opposition candidates Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi questioned Tinubu’s fitness for office based on this same issue. However, Nigeria’s election tribunal dismissed the case, upholding Tinubu’s win.
Greenspan Pushed For Urgent Action
Just days before Nigeria’s Supreme Court was to hear challenges to Tinubu’s election, Greenspan asked the U.S. court for an emergency order to force the release of the documents. He argued the information was critical to the Nigerian case. However, the court denied his emergency request, saying it didn’t meet the legal requirements for urgent action.
On the same day, Tinubu’s legal team filed a motion to join the U.S. case, saying the documents in question, especially tax records and law enforcement files, were private and should not be released under FOIA.
More Details From Old Court Papers
In court, Greenspan presented older U.S. legal documents as evidence. One was a verified complaint filed in July 1993 by the U.S. Department of Justice. It described a drug trafficking investigation involving several people, including Agbele and others reportedly linked to Tinubu.
According to the complaint, Agbele was arrested after selling white heroin to an undercover agent. During the investigation, Agbele named Mueez Akande, allegedly connected to Tinubu, as his uncle. Akande had reportedly provided him housing in Indiana.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent involved in the case, Kevin Moss, detailed how the DEA and FBI were also part of the investigation. The agent claimed there was “probable cause” to believe that funds in Tinubu’s accounts were linked to money laundering and drug trafficking.
This evidence helped federal prosecutors in 1993 to request the forfeiture of Tinubu’s funds held in a U.S. bank. Although Tinubu agreed to give up the money, he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has never faced criminal charges in the U.S.
What comes next?
Judge Howell has given the FBI, DEA, and other agencies until May 2 to submit a report explaining the current status of the FOIA requests. The focus now will be on files related to Tinubu and Agbele only, following Greenspan’s decision to narrow his demands.
While the judge’s ruling does not guarantee the full release of all requested documents, it does mean the U.S. government must stop pretending the records don’t exist. Whether or not the public will soon see the full details of the investigation remains to be seen.
But for now, the court has made it clear: the time for secrecy is over.
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