By Gloria Nosa
A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has ordered the FBI and DEA to release records linked to an investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and alleged drug trafficking activities from the 1990s.
In a ruling dated April 8, Judge Beryl Howell directed both agencies to search for and process any non-exempt documents related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by Aaron Greenspan, an American researcher and founder of the transparency site PlainSite.
Greenspan submitted a dozen FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023. He was seeking records about a Chicago-based drug ring and requested files concerning Tinubu and three other individuals—Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Previously, the FBI and DEA declined to confirm or deny whether such records even existed—a move known as a “Glomar response.” But the judge ruled that in this case, those responses were not justified.
The court determined that both agencies had already acknowledged investigations involving Tinubu, and that the public’s right to know outweighs any potential privacy concerns.
As a result, the FBI and DEA must now search for and release all non-exempt documents related to the case. The parties are required to update the court with a progress report by May 2, 2025.
The CIA, which was also named in the case, is not required to release any records, as the court found its Glomar response was valid and properly handled.
In summary, while the CIA is off the hook, the FBI and DEA must move forward with reviewing and releasing their records related to the probe involving Tinubu.
