A court in the United States has ordered the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration to release documents connected to a past criminal investigation involving Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu.
The order was given by Judge Beryl Howell of the US District Court in Columbia. The ruling, dated April 8, came after a lawsuit filed by an American researcher, Aaron Greenspan.
Greenspan is the founder of a legal website called *PlainSite*. He had asked for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking documents about a drug trafficking case in Chicago from the 1990s.
His request included records related to President Tinubu and three other people: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Before now, the FBI and DEA had refused to confirm or deny if such records existed — a response known in US law as a “Glomar response.”
But the judge ruled that this kind of response was not acceptable in this case. She stated that both agencies must search for and release records that are not legally protected from being made public.
According to the court document, “The FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring.”
Judge Howell added, “Any privacy interests… are overcome by the public interest in the release of such information.”
She explained that the two agencies failed to give enough reason why the documents should remain hidden. “They have failed to meet their burden to sustain their Glomar responses,” she said.
While the court ordered the FBI and DEA to release the requested information, the judge ruled that the CIA can keep its records secret. This was because Greenspan had accepted the CIA’s right to keep its own response confidential.
The judge concluded, “The FBI and DEA must search for and process non-exempt records… The CIA, meanwhile, is entitled to judgment in its favour in this case.”
All parties involved in the case have been told to report back to the court with an update by May 2, 2025.
