The Presidency has dismissed concerns surrounding a recent U.S. federal court judgment that directs American law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and DEA, to release investigative records related to President Tinubu from the 1990s. The ruling, issued by Judge Beryl Howell, compels the disclosure of records from a reported narcotics investigation, rejecting the agencies’ attempt to use the “Glomar response” to withhold the documents.
In response, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that the administration has “nothing new to say” on the matter, asserting that the reports by Agent Moss of the FBI and the DEA have been in the public domain for over 30 years and did not indict the Nigerian leader. He added that the lawyers are examining the ruling.
The case was initiated by Aaron Greenspan, an American transparency advocate, who filed a lawsuit after his FOIA requests seeking details of a federal investigation into a heroin trafficking network allegedly involving Tinubu and others were denied. Greenspan argued that the agencies had improperly withheld information of significant public interest, citing a 1993 Department of Justice complaint seeking the forfeiture of $460,000 in funds linked to Tinubu, which the U.S. government alleged were proceeds of drug trafficking.
Despite President Tinubu’s intervention citing privacy concerns, Judge Howell ruled that the public interest in understanding the records surrounding Tinubu’s alleged involvement outweighed the claimed privacy interests. While the CIA successfully defended its Glomar response, the judge ordered all other agencies, excluding the CIA, to jointly file a report by May 2 on the status of outstanding issues in the case.
