TD WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has initiated steps to comply with a federal court order concerning the release of records held by the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
The records are related to past investigations involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The development follows a long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
Greenspan had sought pp federal law-enforcement records connected to an alleged Chicago heroin-trafficking and money-laundering investigation dating to the early 1990s.
According to a statement circulating from a Republican lobbying firm, Pirro’s office asked U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell for an additional 10 days to comply with the court’s directives.
Howell reportedly granted only four additional days, setting August 21, 2026, as the new deadline.
The court’s action puts renewed pressure on U.S. authorities to process and disclose non-exempt records covered by Greenspan’s FOIA requests.
The underlying litigation is Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, Civil Action No. 23-1816, before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In an April 8, 2025 memorandum opinion, Judge Howell ruled that the FBI and DEA could no longer rely on certain “Glomar” responses—responses in which an agency refuses to confirm or deny whether responsive records exist—to withhold information covered by Greenspan’s requests concerning Tinubu and another individual, Abiodun Agbele.
The court found that prior government disclosures had already publicly acknowledged aspects of the underlying investigation.
It, therefore, ordered the FBI and DEA to search for and process non-exempt records responsive to the relevant FOIA requests.
Greenspan’s requests included records concerning an alleged international narcotics investigation and a Chicago-based heroin distribution operation active during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Among the records sought were FBI materials concerning Tinubu, including a request for FBI Form 302 interview records from 1992–1993, as well as DEA records concerning a Nigerian heroin-distribution organisation.
The litigation has attracted considerable political attention because of Tinubu’s status as Nigeria’s president.
Tinubu was permitted to intervene in the case in November 2023, citing privacy interests in confidential tax information and federal law-enforcement records.
The allegations at the centre of the records request relate to claims that Tinubu was connected to a Chicago narcotics investigation and to a 1993 asset-forfeiture proceeding involving approximately $460,000.
The existence of the forfeiture proceeding and the broader investigation has been reported previously, but the release of additional federal records could provide further information about what U.S. agencies documented at the time.
Importantly, the court’s 2025 ruling did not determine that Tinubu was guilty of drug trafficking.
Rather, it addressed whether federal agencies could withhold or refuse to confirm the existence of records sought under FOIA.
The court specifically distinguished between public disclosures concerning an investigation and proof of criminal wrongdoing.
The lobbying firm supporting renewed disclosure efforts has welcomed Pirro’s reported move.
It argued that the matter has remained unresolved for several years despite judicial intervention.
It also invoked President Donald Trump’s stated position that U.S. strategic relations with Nigeria should not prevent American authorities from pursuing allegations involving foreign officials.
The lobbying group said it supported Howell’s decision to give the government only a limited extension.
It argued that the litigation has already been pending for more than three years and that the public interest requires disclosure of records that are not protected by applicable FOIA exemptions.
The August 21 deadline could therefore become a significant moment in the long-running dispute over the Tinubu-related records.
However, any documents ultimately released by the FBI, DEA or Justice Department may contain redactions or withholding of material protected under FOIA.
The court’s order requires agencies to process and release non-exempt records; it does not necessarily require every document or every portion of a document to be made public.
The renewed disclosure effort also comes amid continued political controversy in Nigeria over allegations concerning Tinubu’s activities in the United States before his political career.
Nigerian officials and supporters of the president have previously rejected attempts to portray the U.S. court proceedings as establishing criminal liability.
As the August 21 deadline approaches, attention is now focused on whether the Trump administration’s Justice Department will release previously withheld FBI and DEA material, what portions will be redacted, and whether the documents contain substantive new information about the allegations that have surrounded Tinubu for decades.
This Dawn News will continue to monitor developments in the case and report verified information as the U.S. authorities respond to the court’s directive.
