The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have confirmed that their searches for records related to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are still in progress. The agencies indicated they expect to complete the process within 90 days and submit a joint report by July 31.
This follows a U.S. District Court order in Washington, D.C., compelling the agencies to release documents tied to a 1990s drug investigation allegedly involving President Tinubu. The ruling came after American citizen Aaron Greenspan filed a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request. On April 8, Judge Beryl Howell ruled against the agencies’ attempt to withhold the documents using a “Glomar response,” which allows them to neither confirm nor deny the existence of the records. The court deemed their reasoning for withholding the records insufficient.
Despite expectations that the documents would be released by May 1, a joint status report submitted on Thursday by Greenspan, U.S. Attorney Edward Martin Jr., and Assistant Attorney M. Jared Littman confirmed the records are not yet ready. The report outlines a proposed timeline for further proceedings, with the agencies seeking until July 31 to finalize their search and provide the documents.
Greenspan, however, has pushed for faster disclosure, suggesting that unredacted documents already identified should be released within a week, and the rest within two weeks. He also plans to seek reimbursement for $440.22 in filing and mailing costs.
The Nigerian Presidency, through Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has maintained that the records in question are not new and are unlikely to reveal anything significant from the decades-old case.
