Friday, May 2, 2025 - The anticipated release of documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) relating to an alleged drug investigation involving President Bola Tinubu has been delayed.
Originally ordered by Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia to be released by May 2, 2025, the agencies
filed a joint status report on Thursday, May 1, requesting an additional 90
days to complete the process.
The case stems from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
lawsuit filed in June 2023 by U.S. transparency advocate, Aaron Greenspan. The
lawsuit seeks access to investigative records from multiple U.S. agencies
regarding a 1990s drug trafficking and money laundering case in Chicago
allegedly linked to Tinubu and others.
Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests
targeting agencies including the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S.
Department of State, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Indiana and Illinois, and the
CIA. The requests focus on records related to Bola Tinubu, Mueez Akande, Lee
Andrew Edwards, and Abiodun Agbele.
In their latest court filing, the FBI and DEA stated that
searches for non-exempt, reasonably segregable records are underway and would
require up to 90 days to complete.
"The FBI and DEA have initiated their searches... and
anticipate completing them in ninety days," the report noted.
However, Greenspan rejected the extension, calling it an
unnecessary delay. He urged the court to mandate a shorter timeline, arguing
that some documents had already been identified and should be released sooner.
“The plaintiff proposes that the FBI and DEA complete their
searches and productions by next week, or at least release unredacted versions
of already-identified documents by then, with the rest completed in 14 days,”
Greenspan argued.
He criticised the agencies for providing “no rationale” for
the additional 90-day request, citing years of prior delays in processing the
FOIA requests.
The court has yet to decide on whether to grant the
extension.
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