A U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has ordered the FBI and DEA to release records related to investigations of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
In the April 8, 2025 ruling, Judge Beryl Howell directed both agencies to process non-exempt records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), dismissing their earlier “Glomar responses”—a refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the requested documents.
The FOIA requests were filed in 2022 and 2023 by Aaron Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, seeking information on Tinubu and others linked to a 1990s Chicago heroin ring. Five U.S. agencies, including the CIA and IRS, initially issued Glomar responses.
Judge Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA failed to prove that disclosing the existence of such records would violate Tinubu’s privacy, stating the public interest outweighs any claimed confidentiality.
Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga downplayed the ruling, saying the reports are decades old and contain no indictment. He added that lawyers are reviewing the court’s decision.
