The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered top American law enforcement agencies to release confidential information relating to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stemming from a “purported federal investigation in the 1990s.”
Presiding Judge Beryl Howell issued the ruling on Tuesday, stating that keeping the information from public disclosure was “neither logical nor plausible.”
The case was brought by American citizen Aaron Greenspan, who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in June 2023 against the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), the Department of State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Greenspan alleged that the agencies violated the FOIA by refusing to release documents tied to federal investigations into President Tinubu and an individual named Abiodun Agbele.
Between 2022 and 2023, he submitted 12 FOIA requests across six agencies, seeking information on investigations allegedly conducted by the FBI, IRS, DEA, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern Districts of Indiana and Illinois.
He specifically sought criminal investigative records involving four individuals alleged to be connected to a Chicago heroin ring in the early 1990s: Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
In response, the agencies issued what is known as a “Glomar response”—refusing to confirm or deny the existence of any records.
Greenspan appealed to the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy (OIP), which upheld the agencies’ decisions.
On June 12, 2023, Greenspan filed a lawsuit challenging the Glomar responses. The CIA was later added as a defendant after issuing a similar refusal.
In October 2023, Greenspan sought an emergency hearing to compel the agencies to release the records, citing the Nigerian Supreme Court’s impending hearing on legal challenges to Tinubu’s 2023 election. The motion was denied.
On the same day, President Tinubu attempted to intervene in the case, citing concerns over the release of his confidential tax and law enforcement records, which he argued were protected under the Privacy Act and FOIA exemptions.
In 1993, Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government after authorities linked the funds to narcotics trafficking, a matter that resurfaced during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election petitions. However, the court upheld his victory, dismissing the claims.
In her ruling this week, Judge Howell determined that the Glomar responses issued by the FBI and DEA were “improper and must be lifted.” She emphasized that since both agencies had already acknowledged Tinubu’s involvement in the investigation, their claim of needing secrecy was no longer credible.
The judge also stated that FOIA requests can be challenged if agencies fail to show that disclosing the information would cause harm under a valid exemption or if the information has already been officially acknowledged by the agency in question.
Greenspan made both arguments, asserting that the DEA and FBI had previously confirmed their investigations into Tinubu and Agbele, and that any privacy concerns were outweighed by the public interest in transparency.
However, the court upheld the CIA’s Glomar response, noting that Greenspan had not proven the agency had acknowledged the existence or absence of relevant records. Therefore, the CIA’s position remains protected.
The case has now narrowed to five FOIA requests, specifically focusing on Tinubu and Agbele. Judge Howell ordered the remaining agencies—excluding the CIA—to submit a joint status report on any unresolved matters by May 2.
Included in Greenspan’s filings was a 1993 affidavit by IRS Special Agent Kevin Moss, which supported the civil forfeiture of funds in Tinubu’s bank account, linking them to narcotics proceeds.
The affidavit stated that DEA agents, assisted by an informant, arrested Agbele after he sold white heroin to an undercover officer. It also established links between Agbele, Akande (said to be Tinubu’s associate), and properties used during the drug operation.
Further investigations tied Tinubu to bank accounts suspected of laundering drug proceeds, with probable cause suggesting his financial dealings violated U.S. laws. The affidavit confirmed that the FBI, IRS, and DEA were involved in the broader investigation.
As the case proceeds, the decision marks a significant legal development, opening the door to public disclosure of records long shielded from scrutiny.
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