The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has issued a ruling mandating the public release of certain confidential information concerning Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The information is related to an alleged federal investigation in the 1990s that linked Tinubu to a heroin trafficking operation.
The ruling, made on Tuesday by Judge Beryl Howell, compels top U.S. law enforcement agencies to release documents pertaining to their investigation of Tinubu. The directive follows a lawsuit filed in June 2023 by Aaron Greenspan, an American citizen, under the Freedom of Information Act. Greenspan sued multiple federal agencies—including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of State—alleging non-compliance with FOIA requests he submitted between 2022 and 2023.
Greenspan’s suit sought the release of criminal records linked to a joint investigation conducted in the 1990s by the FBI, DEA, IRS, and U.S. Attorneys in the Northern Districts of Indiana and Illinois. The investigation reportedly involved four individuals: Bola Tinubu, Abiodun Agbele, Lee Andrew Edwards, and Mueez Abegboyega Akande, in connection with a heroin trafficking ring.
The agencies had previously issued “Glomar” responses—refusals to confirm or deny the existence of records—claiming that doing so would violate FOIA exemptions. Greenspan challenged these responses, arguing that the agencies had already publicly acknowledged the investigation and therefore could not rely on such exemptions.
In her ruling, Judge Howell agreed in part with Greenspan, determining that the FBI and DEA had improperly invoked the Glomar response. She stated that their claim to withhold the information from public release was “neither logical nor plausible” since both agencies had previously acknowledged investigating Tinubu.
“The Glomar responses issued by the FBI and DEA were improper,” Judge Howell ruled. “Their claim of protecting this information from public disclosure is neither logical nor plausible.”
She further noted that FOIA allows requesters to contest an agency’s justification for withholding information, especially when the agency has already confirmed the existence of an investigation. By previously acknowledging their probe into Tinubu and Agbele, the judge said, the FBI and DEA had waived their right to issue a Glomar response.
However, Judge Howell found that the CIA had not similarly waived its right. She ruled that Greenspan had failed to demonstrate that the CIA had officially acknowledged the existence or nonexistence of the records he requested. Therefore, the CIA was not obligated to release any documents at this stage.
The case touches on a long-standing controversy dating back to 1993, when Tinubu allegedly forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government after funds in his accounts were linked to proceeds from narcotics trafficking. This issue re-emerged during the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, with opponents citing it in their legal attempts to disqualify him. However, the Presidential Election Petition Court later dismissed those challenges and upheld Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the election.
Court filings submitted by Greenspan included an affidavit outlining an investigation into Agbele’s role in a heroin smuggling network. According to the document, Agbele was arrested during a DEA sting operation and later cooperated with authorities, providing information that implicated Tinubu. The affidavit also identified bank accounts allegedly controlled by Tinubu that were suspected of being used to launder proceeds from the drug operation.
Judge Howell’s decision allows for the release of documents concerning Tinubu and Agbele, while maintaining the CIA’s Glomar response. The court has directed the involved U.S. agencies to submit a report on the remaining aspects of the case by May 2.
