BREAKING: U.S. Court directs FBI, DEA to release files on Tinubu’s alleged drug probe

A United States District Court in Washington, D.C. has ordered American law enforcement agencies to release confidential files related to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over an alleged federal investigation from the 1990s.

Judge Beryl Howell, who issued the ruling on Tuesday, described the continuous withholding of the records as “neither logical nor plausible.”

This legal action followed a lawsuit filed in June 2023 by Aaron Greenspan, a U.S. citizen, who sued several American agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

These agencies include the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), FBI, IRS, DEA, CIA, and the Department of State. Greenspan accused them of breaking FOIA laws by failing to release documents connected to a supposed investigation involving Tinubu and another individual, Abiodun Agbele.

Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests to these agencies. He wanted details on a joint probe conducted by the FBI, IRS, DEA, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Indiana and Illinois. The investigation was said to focus on a Chicago-based heroin trafficking group in the early 1990s.

The FOIA requests specifically mentioned Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Agbele, all believed to have connections to the drug syndicate.

But the agencies responded with what is known as “Glomar responses,” which means they neither confirmed nor denied the existence of such documents.

Greenspan appealed these responses with the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy, but his appeals were denied. He later filed a formal lawsuit on June 12, 2023, naming the FBI, DEA, IRS, EOUSA, and the State Department. He later added the CIA as a defendant after it issued the same Glomar response.

On October 20, 2023, Greenspan requested an emergency court hearing, citing urgency due to the Supreme Court hearing in Nigeria on the presidential election.

However, the court turned down his request three days later, saying it didn’t meet the standard for emergency action.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu applied to intervene in the case, raising privacy concerns over the possible release of his confidential tax documents and law enforcement files.

He argued that these materials were protected by the Privacy Act or were exempt from being released under FOIA.

Back in 1993, Tinubu reportedly forfeited $460,000 to U.S. authorities after investigators linked the money to drug trafficking proceeds.

This case resurfaced during the 2023 presidential election tribunal in Nigeria, where opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi used it to challenge Tinubu’s eligibility.

However, the court dismissed their petitions and upheld Tinubu’s election.

In Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Howell partly agreed with Greenspan. She declared the Glomar responses by the FBI and DEA as “improper,” noting that these agencies failed to justify why they should keep the documents secret.

She pointed out that it was already public knowledge that Tinubu had been investigated by both agencies, making it unreasonable to continue hiding that fact.

Judge Howell explained that FOIA rules allow requesters to challenge Glomar responses either by disputing the harm such disclosures might cause or by proving the government already acknowledged the information in public.

Greenspan used both arguments. He said the DEA confirmed it investigated Agbele and that both the FBI and DEA had acknowledged investigations tied to Tinubu.

He also argued that public interest outweighed Tinubu’s privacy and that the CIA had admitted having related records.

However, the court ruled in the CIA’s favour, saying Greenspan failed to prove the agency ever acknowledged such records. Therefore, the CIA’s Glomar response stood.

The court also revealed that five of Greenspan’s FOIA requests are still being reviewed. During the hearing, Greenspan agreed to limit the scope of the review to documents related to Tinubu and Agbele. As a result, the judge ordered the remaining defendants, excluding the CIA, to submit a status update by May 2, outlining any remaining matters in the case.

Among the key documents Greenspan submitted was a verified complaint from July 1993, which included an affidavit from IRS Special Agent Kevin Moss. The affidavit detailed how Tinubu’s First Heritage Bank account was targeted for civil forfeiture because the funds were suspected to be linked to drug trafficking.

Agent Moss stated that Abiodun Agbele, who was caught selling heroin to undercover officers, was the starting point of the investigation. When arrested, Agbele told investigators that Mueez Akande, allegedly linked to Tinubu, was his uncle and provided him housing in Indiana.

The affidavit described multiple heroin sales by Agbele and how law enforcement used an informant to set up a controlled drug purchase. After Agbele’s arrest, he agreed to work with authorities.

According to the affidavit, both the FBI and DEA investigated Tinubu in connection with the drug network. Special Agent Moss concluded that there was reasonable cause to believe Tinubu’s bank accounts were involved in money laundering connected to heroin sales.

The court noted that this forfeiture effort was based on joint intelligence from the IRS, DEA, and FBI during their investigation into a heroin ring operating in Chicago in the early 1990s.