The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States have asked a court for 90 extra days to release documents linked to an old drug case said to involve President Bola Tinubu.
This request was made on Thursday in a joint report sent to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case started after Aaron Greenspan, a legal transparency activist, filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Greenspan, who runs a platform called PlainSite, is asking for records related to a drug ring in Chicago from the 1990s.
He listed President Tinubu and three others—Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele—as people he believes are connected to the case.
Earlier, the court, led by Judge Beryl Howell, told the FBI and DEA to update the court by May 2, 2025, on their progress in finding and releasing non-exempt documents.
But in the latest update, the agencies said they need more time. “The FBI and DEA have started their searches and expect to finish them in 90 days,” they said in the report.
Greenspan, however, disagreed with the delay. He said the agencies had already wasted time and some of the documents had already been found. He wants them to release the available documents within a week and complete the rest in two weeks.
“The FBI and DEA have caused years of delay,” Greenspan said. “They have no clear reason why they need 90 more days.”
The FOIA requests were first filed between 2022 and 2023 and were sent to several U.S. federal agencies. At first, the FBI and DEA gave what is called a “Glomar response,” meaning they refused to confirm or deny if such documents existed. But the court later ruled that this was not acceptable and ordered them to either release the records or explain why they could not.
Greenspan also said he wants to be paid back $440.22, which includes a $402 filing fee and $38.22 for postage.
Both parties disagree on when they should next report to the court. The FBI and DEA suggested July 31, while Greenspan asked for May 31.
