Washington D.C., April 15, 2025 — A United States District Court has ordered the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to make public certain information relating to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Judge Beryl Howell of the District Court for the District of Columbia, in response to a motion filed by Aaron Greenspan, an American citizen and transparency advocate, who is challenging the FBI’s handling of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Judge Howell held that the FBI’s continued withholding of the records lacked sufficient justification, declaring that the Bureau’s attempt to shield the documents was “neither logical nor plausible.”
Greenspan had accused the FBI of violating FOIA guidelines by failing to release documents within the required time frame, particularly those pertaining to alleged investigations involving President Tinubu and one Abiodun Agbele.
Central to the request was a long-standing allegation that President Tinubu forfeited $460,000 to the U.S. government in 1993 after investigators linked the funds to suspected drug trafficking activities. The matter resurfaced during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election when Tinubu’s opponents, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, raised questions about his eligibility. However, the Presidential Election Petition Court ultimately dismissed their suits and upheld Tinubu’s victory.
Tuesday’s ruling marks a partial victory for Greenspan, as Judge Howell found that both the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) failed to convincingly prove they had properly invoked FOIA exemptions to withhold the information.
The court’s decision now compels the agencies to either release the requested records or provide a clearer and more legally justifiable reason for their continued secrecy.
The development could renew scrutiny of President Tinubu’s past, both in the United States and Nigeria, even as the administration continues to push its policy agenda amid a tense political climate.
It remains to be seen how much information will be made public and what implications, if any, it could have on the political discourse in Nigeria.
