Several major U.S. government agencies, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), are expected to release investigation reports on Friday, May 2, 2025, relating to a decades-old alleged drug case involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The documents will be released following a U.S. District Court order from Judge Beryl Howell, who ruled that the agencies must comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The judge said there was no logical or legal reason to continue withholding the information.
The agencies involved in the order include the U.S. Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Attorneys. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is exempt from the joint filing but is still referenced in the order.
The FOIA lawsuit was filed in June 2023 by American citizen Aaron Greenspan, who alleged that the U.S. agencies had failed to respond within the legal timeframe to his requests for documents related to federal investigations into President Tinubu and three others allegedly linked to a drug operation in the 1990s.
Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023 seeking records from six different U.S. agencies. The individuals named in the requests include Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
While legal experts suggest the court order could still be appealed, the release of the documents marks a significant moment in the ongoing public interest surrounding historical allegations linked to President Tinubu.
Responding to the development, the Nigerian Presidency has stated that the documents in question contain no new information and do not implicate President Tinubu in any wrongdoing.
The court has directed that the parties return with a status report on the case by May 2.