The Nigerian Presidency has addressed a recent U.S. court ruling directing the release of confidential files linked to President Bola Tinubu and a decades-old investigation in the United States.
According to earlier reports, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered federal agencies, particularly the FBI and DEA, to disclose records previously kept from the public.
The judge criticized the agencies’ refusal to confirm or deny the documents’ existence, labeling it as unreasonable and inconsistent.
The case stems from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit initiated in June 2023 by American citizen Aaron Greenspan.
He filed suits against several agencies—including the FBI, DEA, IRS, State Department, and CIA—alleging that they failed to respond to multiple FOIA requests made between 2022 and 2023.
Greenspan’s inquiry focuses on President Tinubu and several individuals reportedly linked to a heroin trafficking case in Chicago in the early 1990s.
While most agencies issued “Glomar” responses, declining to confirm or deny the existence of records, the judge found this stance unjustifiable in the case of the FBI and DEA, particularly since they had earlier acknowledged investigations related to Tinubu.
Judge Howell ruled that the standard for withholding the documents under FOIA had not been met in these instances.
The CIA, however, was exempted from releasing any information due to the absence of prior public confirmation that such records exist.
The lawsuit names not only Tinubu but also Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Akande, and Abiodun Agbele—individuals previously mentioned in U.S. law enforcement files from the 1990s.
In response to the ruling, Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the development, saying, “There’s nothing new here. These files have been available for more than three decades and contain no charges against President Tinubu.” He noted that legal experts are reviewing the court’s decision.
Although Tinubu had previously attempted to halt the release of the records to protect his privacy, Judge Howell has now directed the agencies—excluding the CIA—to submit a status report by May 2, outlining any unresolved issues concerning the release.
It’s important to note that no criminal charges have ever been filed against President Tinubu in the U.S., and the court’s decision relates strictly to enforcing transparency laws under FOIA, not assigning guilt.
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