A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. has ordered the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release records related to a past criminal investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
Judge Beryl Howell issued the ruling on April 8, directing both agencies to search for and process non-exempt documents tied to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by U.S. researcher Aaron Greenspan. Greenspan, who runs legal transparency platform PlainSite, had submitted multiple requests between 2022 and 2023 for information on a 1990s drug trafficking ring in Chicago, naming Tinubu and three others: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Initially, the FBI and DEA declined to confirm or deny the existence of such records—a tactic known as a “Glomar response.” However, the court ruled that these responses were not justified in this case, citing the public’s right to know about investigations involving public figures.
“The FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu related to the drug trafficking ring,” the court stated. It further concluded that any potential privacy concerns are outweighed by the public interest in transparency.
The CIA, which also received a similar FOIA request, was allowed to maintain its Glomar response after Greenspan acknowledged it had valid grounds.
The FBI and DEA must now search for relevant records and release any materials not protected by legal exemptions. All parties involved in the case are expected to update the court on the status of the matter by May 2, 2025.