The Presidency has described as mischievous and political mechanised nonsense the report that a United States District Court has ordered that confidential information about Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, related to a purported federal investigation in the 1990s, be made public.
News360 Info reports that the order, issued on Tuesday by Judge Beryl Howell, demands that top U.S. law enforcement agencies release documents related to their investigation of Tinubu.
The decision follows a lawsuit filed in June 2023 by American citizen Aaron Greenspan and Nigerian investigative journalist David Hundeyin under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Greenspan had sued multiple U.S. agencies, including the FBI, CIA, IRS, DEA, and the U.S. State Department, accusing them of failing to release documents concerning the investigation into Tinubu’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking during the 1990s.
According to Premium Times, the suit stemmed from FOIA requests he filed between 2022 and 2023, seeking information about a joint investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS, DEA, and U.S. Attorneys in Northern Indiana and Northern Illinois. He specifically requested criminal records related to four individuals allegedly associated with a heroin trafficking ring, including Bola Tinubu, Abiodun Agbele, Lee Andrew Edwards, and Mueez Abegboyega Akande.
In response, the agencies issued “Glomar” responses, refusing to confirm or deny the existence of the requested documents. Greenspan and Hundeyin challenged these responses, claiming that the information was public and should not be withheld under FOIA exemptions.
Judge Howell’s ruling partially favored Greenspan and Hundeyin, stating that the “Glomar” responses issued by the FBI and DEA were improper. The judge noted that the claim of protecting this information from public disclosure was “neither logical nor plausible” given that both agencies already acknowledged the investigation into Tinubu.
Reacting in a post on on Sunday afternoon, the Special Adviser to Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, accused the President’s opponents of being behind the report.
He wrote: “Mischievous and politically mechanized nonsense under the guise of US Court Orders FBI and DEA to act. They claim the order was given on Tuesday, but it never saw the light of the media until Sunday
“There is nothing these opposition under the auspices of coalition for a wild goose chase cannot try to do to keep relevance
“They went to meet Buhari and it was reported that he insisted the meeting be held in or on camera so that Elrufai would not go and say Buhari is joining SDP and PDP.
“Hard as they try, they are still struggling to convince Nigerians that they have any plan at all, needless alternative plan.”
