The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has asked a federal court to keep certain records relating to a historic investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu confidential.
The development comes amid a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case brought by US transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who has sought access to records held by US law-enforcement agencies concerning investigations involving Mr Tinubu and businessman Abiodun Agbele.
The case centres on alleged links to an international drug-trafficking and money-laundering investigation dating back to the early 1990s. The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had previously declined to confirm or deny the existence of some of the requested records, citing privacy protections.
However, in April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could no longer rely on those so-called “Glomar responses”, directing them to search for and process non-exempt records responsive to the FOIA requests.
The dispute has now returned to the spotlight after President Tinubu joined the US Department of Justice in seeking additional time to respond to the court’s orders concerning the release of the records.
According to a report by Anadolu Agency published on 19 August, Judge Howell declined to grant the full 10-day extension sought by the government and set 21 August as the deadline for the response.
The latest development has renewed political interest in records relating to the allegations, particularly as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general election.
The historical case also involves a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding in which about $460,000 linked to accounts associated with Mr Tinubu was forfeited to the US government. Court documents have described the money as connected to proceeds of narcotics trafficking or transactions prohibited under federal money-laundering laws.
Mr Tinubu and his political allies have consistently maintained that the forfeiture case was a civil proceeding involving the money rather than a criminal prosecution against him personally. They have also stressed that he was never arrested, indicted or convicted of a drug-trafficking offence in the United States.
In its 2025 ruling, the US court did not find Mr Tinubu guilty of drug trafficking. Rather, the judgment concerned whether US agencies could withhold or refuse to confirm the existence of records requested under FOIA.
The latest request by the FBI and the Justice Department is therefore expected to determine what information from the historical investigation may become public and what material, if any, can legally remain protected.
The case continues to attract significant attention in Nigeria because of its potential political implications ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
