WASHINGTON, USA – Multiple United States government agencies, including the FBI, DEA, CIA, IRS, and the Department of State, are expected to release investigation reports on Friday, May 2, 2025, in compliance with a federal court order tied to a longstanding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit concerning President Bola Tinubu.
The order was issued in early April by Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The judge mandated that, except for the CIA, all relevant agencies must jointly file a report and disclose any remaining documents relating to purported federal investigations involving Tinubu and other individuals linked to alleged drug trafficking activities in the 1990s.
The ruling stems from a FOIA lawsuit filed in June 2023 by U.S. citizen Aaron Greenspan, who sought access to criminal investigative records concerning President Tinubu and three others—Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele—believed to be connected to a drug trafficking network allegedly investigated in the U.S. in the 1990s.
Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests to six U.S. federal agencies, including the Department of Justice and its subcomponents in Indiana and Illinois, where the original investigations were believed to have taken place.
Greenspan accused the agencies of violating the FOIA statute by failing to release the requested documents within the required timeframe.
Judge Howell, in her decision, rejected arguments that continued withholding of the documents was justified, stating that doing so was “neither logical nor plausible.”
The court order now compels the agencies to clarify the status of any remaining undisclosed records by May 2.
The Central Intelligence Agency, however, has been granted an exception and is not required to participate in the joint filing.
While the impending release has stirred renewed public interest in the decades-old case, Nigerian presidential aides insist there is nothing new in the documents that would implicate President Tinubu.
The Presidency previously described the matter as “recycled” and maintained that no U.S. legal action has ever directly indicted the president.
Legal experts, however, note that the court’s order remains appealable, potentially opening the door to further legal challenges by the U.S. government agencies involved, depending on the content of the documents and national security considerations.
The documents, if released in full or partially, could rekindle political debate in Nigeria, where opposition parties have long cited allegations of a drug-related past to challenge Tinubu’s political legitimacy.
The President’s allies, on the other hand, argue that no formal conviction or criminal charge was ever levelled against him.
Friday’s filing is expected to clarify the extent and conclusions—if any—of the investigations previously believed to involve Tinubu during his time in the U.S. before his political ascent in Nigeria.
