A United States District Court in Columbia has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release records related to the investigation of President Bola Tinubu over alleged drug trafficking activities.
The court ruling, issued by Judge Beryl Howell on April 8, 2025, compels both agencies to search for and release non-exempt records following Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by American researcher Aaron Greenspan. Greenspan, the founder of legal transparency platform PlainSite, had submitted multiple FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023, seeking information about a Chicago drug ring from the early 1990s. These requests also targeted records on Tinubu, alongside three other individuals: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
In its previous responses, the FBI and DEA had issued “Glomar responses,” which refused to confirm or deny the existence of records. However, the court ruled that such responses were inappropriate in this case, and both agencies were now instructed to search for and process any relevant materials. The court’s ruling emphasized that the public’s right to know outweighed any privacy concerns regarding the records.
“The FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring,” the judgment stated. “Any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests to the FBI and DEA for records about Tinubu are overcome by the public interest in the release of such information.”
The ruling went on to state that the agencies failed to present sufficient reasons to withhold the records, which led to the judge granting Greenspan’s request for summary judgment. The FBI and DEA are now required to search for and release any non-exempt records, and the parties involved have been instructed to provide an update on the case’s status by May 2, 2025.
The court upheld the CIA’s Glomar response, as the agency acknowledged the existence of responsive records. However, the judge ruled in favor of the CIA, as its Glomar response was deemed appropriately asserted.
This ruling marks a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings concerning President Tinubu, with the release of these records potentially shedding light on the long-standing allegations against him.
