By Bukola Kuteyi
A request letter was in a joint status report filed with the US District Court for the District of Columbia recently; this letter is in response to an alleged drug investigation involving Nigeria President Bola Tinubu
Responding, the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA) have requested a 90-day extension from the United States District Court to produce documents relating to the alleged involving Mr. President dated back to the 1990s.
Aaron Greenspan, an American legal transparency advocate, also requested the Freedom of Information Act, seeking the release of records connected to a Chicago-based drug ring named Tinubu along with three other individuals: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
The American court had earlier ordered the FBI and DEA to provide a status update on the search and release of non-exempt documents by May 2, 2025, but the agencies pleaded for more time.
“Aaron Greenspan (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the remaining defendants in this case, 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).- The Report stated
Similarly, FOIA requests were filed between 2022 and 2023, seeking records from multiple federal agencies.
However, at the Initial stage, the FBI and DEA issued Glomar responses, refusing to confirm or deny the existence of relevant records.
“The plaintiff requested reimbursement for his costs: the filing fee of $402.00 and $38.22 for certified mail postage, totaling $440.22, urged the court to set the deadline for May 31, 2025, against the proposed July 31.