A United States federal judge has strongly criticised the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for repeatedly delaying the release of records linked to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The documents were requested under a 2022 Freedom of Information (FOI) application filed by transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan, with support from investigative journalist David Hundeyin.
Delivering her ruling on February 3 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., Judge Beryl A. Howell expressed frustration with what she described as ongoing delay tactics by the agencies. The requested records are believed to relate to a decades-old narcotics-trafficking investigation that led to Tinubu forfeiting $460,000 to U.S. authorities in the early 1990s. Greenspan, CEO of the data transparency group Plainsite, first submitted the FOI request in June 2022.
According to court filings, the judge said the repeated postponements and failure to meet deadlines had left the case stalled for more than three years without significant progress. She issued fresh orders and strict timelines aimed at forcing the agencies to move forward with the release process.
The FBI had earlier announced plans in 2023 to release about 2,500 pages of records in monthly batches of 500 pages. However, the process was halted after Tinubu opposed the disclosure and requested a delay, arguing that the release could negatively affect him while Nigeria’s Supreme Court was considering legal challenges to his presidential election victory.
Although the court initially granted that request and Tinubu’s election was later upheld, the judge noted that the FBI and DEA continued to miss deadlines and repeatedly sought extensions. The agencies’ delays, she said, had prolonged public uncertainty surrounding the long-running controversy. Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The FBI, which was expected to provide an updated report by May 2025, postponed its submissions several times — eventually requesting another extension into February 2026. The repeated changes to release timelines triggered a sharp response from Judge Howell, who pointed out that the agency had failed to produce any records despite multiple promises and revised schedules.
She criticised the FBI for not providing a clear completion date for processing and releasing the documents. The judge also rejected the DEA’s explanations for withholding certain pages for more than six months, saying the agency had repeatedly claimed the files were under review by other agencies without offering concrete timelines.
As part of new court orders, the DEA must provide a detailed “Vaughn index” explaining why 50 pages were redacted and 172 pages withheld. The agency must also submit sworn affidavits detailing the status of 12 remaining records, including when they were sent for consultation and when they are expected to be released.
Judge Howell further directed the FBI to submit sworn explanations for missing earlier deadlines and to release all non-exempt records as promised. The bureau must provide a detailed timetable showing how it will release a second batch of 500 pages by March 13, with the remaining documents expected to be completed by June 1, 2026.
Both the FBI and DEA were also ordered to submit joint progress reports to the court every 14 days starting February 27 until all records are processed and released. Meanwhile, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was removed from the case in April 2025 after successfully arguing that it held no intelligence files related to Tinubu.
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