A U.S. federal court has directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to provide a timeline by July 31, 2025, for the release of unredacted documents related to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s alleged involvement in heroin trafficking during the 1990s.
Background of the Case
The order follows a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in June 2023 by U.S. transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, founder of the platform PlainSite. Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023 to several U.S. federal agencies-including the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Department of State, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Indiana and Illinois, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-seeking investigative records about Tinubu and three other individuals allegedly linked to a Chicago-based heroin trafficking and money laundering network.
Initially, the FBI and DEA issued “Glomar responses,” refusing to confirm or deny the existence of such records. However, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District of Columbia ruled in April 2025 that the agencies’ continued secrecy was “neither logical nor plausible,” ordering them to release all non-exempt, unredacted records.
Recent Developments
In a joint status report filed on May 1, 2025, the FBI and DEA requested an additional 90 days to complete their search and release of the documents, proposing to submit a detailed release schedule by July 31. Greenspan and co-plaintiff David Hundeyin, Editor-in-Chief of West Africa Weekly, opposed the extension, demanding the release of already identified documents within a week and completion of the entire production within two weeks.
After negotiations, a compromise was reached: the FBI and DEA will not appeal the ruling and will provide a schedule for releasing the unredacted files by July 31, 2025. This development signals a significant step toward transparency in a case that has drawn intense public interest.
Significance and Reactions
The lawsuit and court order represent a rare judicial push to uncover records related to a sitting African president’s alleged criminal past. The documents are expected to shed light on Tinubu’s purported ties to heroin trafficking in Chicago during the early 1990s.
While the FBI and DEA have already released over 3,000 heavily redacted pages that do not mention Tinubu by name, the plaintiffs insist that the unredacted files are crucial for understanding the full scope of the investigation.
President Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, downplayed the ruling’s impact, stating that the FBI and DEA reports have been publicly available for decades and do not implicate the president in any wrongdoing. The president’s legal team is reportedly reviewing the court’s decision.
The July 31 deadline for the release schedule will mark a pivotal moment in the ongoing effort to access comprehensive U.S. law enforcement records related to Tinubu’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Transparency advocates remain vigilant, emphasizing the importance of public scrutiny for accountability and historical clarity.
