The Nigerian Presidency has reacted to a recent decision by a U.S. court mandating the release of previously classified files concerning President Bola Tinubu’s alleged links to a 1990s investigation in the United States.
AFRIPOST had initially reported that this directive came from Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who ruled that federal law enforcement bodies, specifically the FBI and DEA, must make the documents public.
She said their ongoing refusal to confirm or deny the records’ existence was “neither logical nor plausible.”
The case originated from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in June 2023 by American citizen Aaron Greenspan.
He sued various federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, IRS, State Department, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and later the CIA, accusing them of stonewalling his FOIA submissions between 2022 and 2023.
His requests centred on President Tinubu and individuals allegedly tied to a heroin trafficking ring in Chicago during the early 1990s.
While most agencies issued “Glomar” responses—refusing to confirm or deny the existence of any records—Judge Howell found these replies unjustifiable from the FBI and DEA, given that they had previously acknowledged investigations involving Tinubu.
She maintained that the rationale for maintaining secrecy no longer held up under FOIA standards.
The CIA, however, was allowed to maintain its silence, as there was no evidence it had publicly acknowledged any such records.
The lawsuit seeks documents connected to Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Akande, and Abiodun Agbele, individuals named in U.S. law enforcement files from the 1990s.
In response, Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, downplayed the court order. “There’s nothing new in these reports.
The FBI and DEA files have been publicly available for over 30 years and contain no indictments against President Tinubu,” Onanuga said, adding that lawyers are currently reviewing the judgment.
Despite President Tinubu’s past efforts to intervene in the lawsuit to protect his privacy, Judge Howell’s ruling now requires all agencies involved except the CIA to submit a status update by May 2 concerning any remaining disputes about the document release.
No U.S. criminal charges have ever been brought against Tinubu. Though the ruling has stirred fresh debate, it does not imply guilt but rather enforces federal transparency laws.