The Presidential Palace has responded to a U.S. court ruling that ordered U.S. law enforcement agencies to release confidential information related to President Bola Tinubu, which was claimed to have occurred during a federal investigation in the 1990s.
The order was issued by Judge Beryl Howell of the District Court of Columbia, who ruled that the FBI and the DEA must release documents, noting that the confidentiality of continuing confidentiality is “neither logical nor reasonable.”
Premium Times reports that the ruling follows a June 2023 lawsuit filed by U.S. citizen Aaron Greenspan under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Greenspan sued several agencies, including the U.S. Lawyer Executive Office (EOSA), the FBI, the DEA, the IRS, the State Department and later the CIA. He claimed that the agencies failed to respond adequately to the 12 FOIA requests he filed between 2022 and 2023, seeking documents in Chicago in the 1990s regarding President Tinubu and other heroin trafficking networks.
These agencies responded by “glomar” denial to confirm or deny whether such records exist.
Greenspan made these responses and filed an emergency motion in October 2023 urging records to be released quickly ahead of a Supreme Court hearing in Nigeria, challenging Tinubu’s election. The motion was rejected. Tinubu then took the action to intervene on the grounds that privacy issues released its tax and enforcement records. Nevertheless, Justice Howell found that Hall (FBI) and DEA’s Glomar response was inappropriate, as both agencies have formally recognized the investigation involving Tinubu.
The judge wrote that the argument for retaining the document failed, and “at this point, the glomar response was necessary to protect the information from the public disclosure requirement, and is neither logical nor reasonable at this time.” However, the court upheld the CIA’s Glomar response, saying Greenspan failed to show that the agency had formally acknowledged the existence or absence of the relevant records. ”
Greenspan’s FOIA requested a record of investigations regarding Bola Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande and Abiodun Agbele, which are the U.S. law enforcement records with all individuals operating in the distribution network in the early 1990s.
Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, responded to the latest court ruling, saying there was nothing to reveal in the documents ordered to release. “There is nothing new to reveal. FBI agent Moss’ report and DEA report have been in public places for more than 30 years. The report does not accuse Nigerian leaders. Lawyers are reviewing the ruling.”
Onanuga added that journalists seeking responses have contacted the presidency and reiterated that the documents have long been part of the public record.
The legal challenge is underway, and Judge Howell ordered both sides not including the CIA to submit joint identity reports on any remaining disputes regarding the release of records by May 2, a dispute now specifically targeting Tinubu and Agbele.
Despite the controversy surrounding the 1993 confiscation, Tinubu has been denied any misconduct and has never filed criminal charges against him in the U.S. court. The latest court ruling, while reigniting the public interest, did not confirm guilt, but simply forced the release of documents under the U.S. transparency law.
