WASHINGTON — A U.S. federal judge has ordered the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration to release documents related to a decades-old investigation into Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, ruling that the agencies’ efforts to block the release of the files are unfounded.
Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in her Tuesday ruling that withholding the records under the so-called “Glomar response” — refusing to confirm or deny their existence — is “neither logical nor plausible.”
The suit was filed in 2023 by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who argued that six U.S. agencies — including the FBI, DEA, IRS, CIA, and State Department — improperly withheld documents tied to alleged criminal investigations into Tinubu and several associates linked to a 1990s Chicago heroin trafficking ring.
“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 wrote in the ruling.
FOIA Fight
Mr. Greenspan submitted a dozen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests between 2022 and 2023, seeking details of investigations allegedly involving Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
The agencies issued blanket refusals, prompting a legal battle that culminated in Tuesday’s ruling.
In court, Greenspan cited a previously known 1993 civil forfeiture case in which Tinubu surrendered $460,000 to the U.S. government. U.S. authorities had linked the funds to narcotics proceeds, although Tinubu was never charged with a crime.
The forfeiture became a point of contention in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, though the Nigerian courts upheld Tinubu’s eligibility.
“Any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests… are overcome by the public interest in release of such information,” Greenspan’s filing argued, which the judge partly agreed with.
CIA Shielded—for Now
The judge sided with the CIA, however, ruling that Greenspan failed to show the agency ever officially acknowledged the records he sought. As such, the CIA’s Glomar response will stand.
The remaining five agencies must now file a joint status report by May 2 outlining unresolved issues in the case.
Background: The Drug Ring Connection
Included in Greenspan’s filing were 1993 court documents and an affidavit by IRS Special Agent Kevin Moss detailing how Tinubu’s bank accounts came under scrutiny in a broader narcotics probe.
The investigation tied Tinubu to Abiodun Agbele, who was caught selling heroin to undercover agents and later cooperated with authorities. Agbele, according to the affidavit, identified Akande — allegedly linked to Tinubu — as his uncle and benefactor in the U.S.
The affidavit stated that “there is probable cause to believe” Tinubu’s bank accounts contained drug proceeds and were involved in money laundering.
Despite the forfeiture of the funds, Tinubu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has never been indicted.
Editor: Gabriel Ani
