.Now seeks 90-day extension
THE Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have sought a 90-day extension for the release of the records of Nigeria’s President, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, disappointing Nigerians who had looked forward to seeing the files containing the president’s past.
This is 2 years since the case was filed in the United States. The U.S. agencies have been accused of blocking the release of Mr Tinubu’s alleged drug ties by subterfuge. Mr Aaron Greenspan, an American legal transparency advocate and founder of the platform PlainSite, had filed the case in June 2023 requesting the release of Mr Tinubu’s drug-linked records.
A U.S. court had on May 2 ordered the FBI and the DEA to release President Tinubu’s drug past records linking him to a drug trafficking investigation in Chicago in the early 1990s.
But in a joint status report filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday, the FBI and the DEA told the court that they needed more time to complete their searches for Mr Tinubu’s records. The FBI and the DEA had earlier issued ‘Glomar responses,’ which meant they neither confirmed or denied the existence of the records. However, the court ruled that such responses were inappropriate in this case.
Greenspan’s request to release Tinubu’s records promptly
However, the plaintiff, Mr Aaron Greenspan, an American legal transparency advocate and founder of the platform PlainSite, rejected the 90-day extension, proposing a 14-day deadline for the FBI and the DEA to produce the requested files.
The insistent Mr Greenspan had contended that the two agencies produce unredacted versions of the documents they had already identified by next week.
The report submitted by Mr Greenspan read, “Aaron Greenspan (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the only remaining defendants in this case, respectfully submit the following joint status report proposing a schedule to govern further proceedings, pursuant to the Court’s Order of April 8, 2025 (ECF No. 47).
“Pursuant to the Court’s order, the defendants FBI and DEA must search for and produce non-exempt records responsive to the plaintiff’s FOIA requests (FBI Requests Nos. 1588244-000 and 1593615- 000, and DEA Request Nos. 22-00892-F and 24-00201-F).”
He noted that the FBI and the DEA had initiated their searches for responsive, non-exempt, reasonably segregable portions of Mr Tinubu’s records requested by the plaintiff and anticipated completing their searches in 90 days.
He argued that given the years-long delay already caused by the defendants and the fact that many responsive documents have already been identified, the FBI and the DEA should complete their searches and productions by next week, “or, at the very least, produce unredacted versions of the already-identified documents by next week, with the remainder completed in 14 days. The defendants provide no rationale for why their search for documents should take 90 days.”
“The plaintiff intends to request reimbursement for his costs: the filing fee of $402.00 and $38.22 for certified mail postage, totalling $440.22.
“The defendants propose that the parties submit a joint status report on or before July 312025 to update the Court on the case status following the agencies’ search for responsive, non-exempt, reasonably segregable records requested by the plaintiff. The plaintiff proposes that they submit a joint status report on or before May 31, 2025.”
Presidency says report now old
The Presidency under Tinubu had earlier dismissed the report, saying there was nothing new to reveal about the case. Tinubu’s spokesman, Mr Bayo Onanuga,had said : “There is nothing new to be revealed. The report by Agent Moss of the FBI and the DEA report have been in the public space for more than 30 years.”
“He said the reports did not indict the Nigerian leader, and lawyers were examining the ruling.
According to a political analyst, Mr Jimoh Gboyega, the report itself “does not indict the president,” arguing that the opposition must “look for something else if they are serious with taking over power from Tinubu.”
But a political science lecturer, Dr Wike Wieber disagreed, noting that “Tinubu would not have been president in the first place in any advanced democracy in the world with his drug-linked records.”
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