The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have said their search for documents related to an old drug investigation allegedly involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is still ongoing.
The agencies made this known in a joint status report submitted to a U.S. District Court on May 1, 2025. They now expect to complete the search within 90 days and submit a report by July 31, 2025.
This development came as a disappointment to many observers who expected the release of the documents on May 2, following a court order.
The case stems from a Freedom of Information (FoI) request filed by an American citizen, Aaron Greenspan. He asked for access to records from a 1990s investigation which allegedly linked Tinubu and others to a drug trafficking case in the United States.
On April 8, 2025, Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered both the FBI and DEA to release the relevant records. She ruled against their use of a “Glomar response”—a legal tool that allows agencies to neither confirm nor deny the existence of certain documents. According to the judge, the agencies failed to justify why the documents should be kept secret.
The judge’s decision raised public interest in the contents of the files and whether they might contain damaging information about President Tinubu, who has faced long-standing allegations related to the case.
In their latest joint filing, the FBI and DEA said they had begun searching for non-exempt and segregable parts of the records. However, Greenspan, the plaintiff, criticized the delay, saying the agencies had already caused significant postponement.
“Defendants provide no rationale whatsoever as to why their search for documents should take 90 days,” Greenspan said in the filing. He argued that many of the documents had already been identified, and therefore should be released sooner. He is pushing for at least partial release of unredacted documents within a week.
Greenspan also intends to request reimbursement of \$440.22 to cover his filing and mailing costs.
While the government wants until July 31 to submit a status update, Greenspan is pushing for an earlier date—May 31—so the court can monitor progress.
The two parties remain in disagreement over the timeline, but they are expected to submit another joint report to inform the court of their progress.
The Nigerian Presidency, however, has played down the matter. Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the documents are not new and do not contain any revelations.
In a recent statement, Onanuga insisted that the issue had been previously addressed and that nothing damaging would emerge from the 30-year-old records.
“It’s a matter that has long been resolved. There’s nothing new or explosive in those documents,” Onanuga said.
President Tinubu has faced past allegations in connection to drug money forfeitures in the U.S., particularly a 1993 court case in Chicago where \$460,000 was seized. However, no criminal charges were filed, and the matter has remained politically sensitive.
The ongoing case in the U.S. has triggered renewed interest in Tinubu’s background, especially as Nigeria continues to battle issues related to transparency and corruption. Analysts say the release of these records—whether incriminating or not—could affect the president’s image at home and abroad.
While the documents are unlikely to lead to criminal charges due to the age of the case and the legal status of previous proceedings, public reaction to their contents could shape political discussions.
For now, the eyes of many Nigerians and international observers remain fixed on the U.S. court system, waiting to see what these long-awaited files may contain.
