By Peter Omopo
Washington D.C., April 28, 2025 — The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have jointly requested a 90-day extension from a U.S. District Court to complete the release of documents related to an alleged drug investigation involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu dating back to the 1990s.
The request was filed Thursday in a joint status report submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case originates from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made by Aaron Greenspan, a legal transparency advocate and founder of the platform PlainSite.
Greenspan is seeking records linked to a drug trafficking investigation that reportedly involved Tinubu and three other individuals—Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele—during Tinubu’s time in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had previously ordered the FBI and DEA to provide a status update by May 2, 2025, on their efforts to locate and produce non-exempt records related to the FOIA requests. In their latest filing, the agencies cited the need for additional time to complete their searches.
“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,” the report stated.
The agencies referenced specific FOIA request numbers—FBI Nos. 1588244-000 and 1593615-000, and DEA Nos. 22-00892-F and 24-00201-F—confirming that the review process was underway but still incomplete.
Greenspan has opposed the proposed delay, arguing that the agencies have already had several years to process the requests and that some relevant documents have already been identified. He is pushing for a shorter timeline for disclosure.
The court is expected to rule on the extension request in the coming days.
