US Government Agencies have failed to release reports in Tinubu-linked drug case.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday informed a United States District Court that they required an additional 90 days to produce investigative reports related to an alleged drug case involving President Bola Tinubu dating back to the 1990s.
In a Joint Status Report submitted to the District Court for the District of Columbia, the two federal agencies, alongside the plaintiff, Aaron Greenspan, made the request to extend the timeline.
The case concerns Tinubu’s alleged involvement in a Chicago drug ring in the early 1990s.
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However, Greenspan, an American legal transparency advocate and founder of the platform PlainSite, rejected the 90-day extension and instead proposed a 14-day deadline for the FBI and DEA to produce the relevant records.
The District Court, presided over by Judge Beryl Howell, had previously ordered the agencies on April 8, 2025, to search for and process records relating to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted by Greenspan. The original deadline for the agencies to submit their report was May 2, 2025.
Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023, seeking information about a Chicago-based drug ring in which four individuals, including Tinubu, were allegedly involved.
These requests also sought documents on other individuals linked to the case: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Previously, both the FBI and DEA had issued “Glomar responses,” refusing to confirm or deny the existence of the requested records. However, the court ruled that such responses were inappropriate in this case.
In the Joint Status Report filed on May 1, 2025, the FBI and DEA informed the court that they had begun searching for non-exempt portions of the requested records. They anticipated completing their searches within the next 90 days.
Despite this, Greenspan argued that the agencies should produce unredacted versions of the documents they had already identified by next week.
He also emphasised that the remaining records should be provided within 14 days, accusing the agencies of failing to provide a valid rationale for why the document search would take up to 90 days.
He signed Greenspan’s proposal for a 14-day extension and two lawyers representing the defendants, Edwards Martin Jr. and Jared Litman.
The report reads, “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).
“The FBI and DEA have initiated their searches for responsive, non-exempt, reasonably segregable portions of records requested by the plaintiff and anticipate completing their searches in ninety days.
“Given the years-long delay already caused by the defendants and the fact that many responsive documents have already been identified, the plaintiff proposes that the FBI and DEA 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.”
