The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) are expected to release documents related to drug investigations involving President Bora Tinubu.
The agency was originally ordered by Judge Burlear Howell of the U.S. District Court, and the District of Columbia will be released on May 2, 2025, and the agency filed a joint identity report Thursday, May 1, requiring another 90 days to complete the process.
The case stems from a FOIA lawsuit filed by US transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan in June 2023. The lawsuit seeks to obtain investigation records from multiple U.S. agencies about drug trafficking and money laundering cases in Chicago in the 1990s, allegedly related to Tinubu and others.
Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests for agencies, including the FBI, DEA, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. State Department, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Indiana and Illinois, and the CIA. These requirements focus on records related to Bola Tinubu, Mueez Akande, Lee Andrew Edwards and Abiodun Agbele.
The FBI and the DEA said in their latest court application that searches for non-exempt, reasonably quarantinable records are underway, which will take up to 90 days to complete.
“The FBI and the DEA have started their search … and are expected to complete their search within 90 days,” the report said.
However, Greenspan rejected the extension, calling it an unnecessary delay. He urged the court to request a shorter timetable and believed that some documents had been determined and should be released as soon as possible.
Greenspan believes: “The plaintiffs recommend that the FBI and the DEA complete their search and production next week, or at least release unedited versions of the document at that time, with the rest being completed within 14 days.”
He criticized the agencies for providing “no rationale” for the additional 90-day request, citing prior delays in handling FOIA requests.
The court has not yet decided whether to approve the extension.
