FBI, DEA Seek 90-Day Extension On Release Of Tinubu Drug Case Files

In a surprising development, the long-awaited release of documents by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) related to an alleged drug investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been delayed.

The documents, originally expected to be released today following a U.S. federal court order in April, will now be withheld for up to 90 more days, pending further searches by the agencies. This comes after the FBI and DEA jointly filed a status report on Thursday, May 1, requesting additional time to locate and process the records.

The case stems from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in June 2023 by American transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan. His lawsuit demanded the release of documents tied to a 1990s drug trafficking and money laundering probe in Chicago, allegedly involving Tinubu and three others—Mueez Akande, Lee Andrew Edwards, and Abiodun Agbele.

According to court filings, Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023 targeting several U.S. federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Department of State, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Indiana and Illinois, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In the most recent status report, the FBI and DEA informed the court that searches for non-exempt, segregable documents were underway but would require three additional months to complete.

“The FBI and DEA have initiated their searches… and anticipate completing their searches in ninety days,” the filing stated.

However, Greenspan strongly objected to the proposed extension, accusing the agencies of unnecessary delays and demanding a faster turnaround. He argued that many of the relevant documents have already been located and should be released without further postponement.

“Given the years-long delay already caused by the defendants… the plaintiff proposes that the FBI and DEA complete their searches and productions by next week,” Greenspan wrote in his opposition.

The extension request has sparked frustration among Nigerians and observers closely monitoring the case, especially amid heightened political interest and speculation about the contents of the files.

Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who previously ordered the release by May 2, has yet to rule on the extension request.

The delay adds another chapter to the decades-old controversy surrounding President Tinubu’s alleged involvement in a drug-related investigation in the U.S.—an issue that has resurfaced periodically since the late 1990s and remains a topic of national debate in Nigeria.