The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have been directed to disclose documents regarding the criminal inquiry into President Bola Tinubu related to alleged drug trafficking activities.
On April 8, Judge Beryl Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that both agencies must locate and process non-exempt records in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted by American researcher Aaron Greenspan.
From 2022 to 2023, Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests in pursuit of details about a Chicago drug syndicate that operated in the early 1990s, as well as records concerning Tinubu and associates Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Previously, the FBI and DEA issued “Glomar responses,” which declined to confirm or deny the existence of the requested records.
However, the court determined that such responses were inappropriate in this instance, ordering the agencies to search for and disclose non-exempt records related to the issue.
The judgement read: “The FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring.
“Any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests to the FBI and DEA for records about Tinubu are overcome by the public interest in the release of such information.
“Since the FBI and DEA have provided no information to establish that a cognizable privacy interest exists in keeping secret the fact that Tinubu was a subject of criminal investigation.
“They have failed to meet their burden to sustain their Glomar responses and provide an additional reason why these responses must be lifted.”
Upholding the CIA’s Glomar response, the judge ruled that the “Plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment as to each of the four Glomar responses asserted by defendants FBI and DEA, while defendant CIA is entitled to summary judgment, since its Glomar response was properly asserted.”
“Accordingly, the FBI and DEA must search for and process non-exempt records responsive to the FOIA requests directed to these agencies.
“The CIA, meanwhile, is entitled to judgment in its favour in this case. The remaining parties are directed to file jointly, by May 2, 2025, a report on the status of any outstanding issues in this case, as described in the accompanying order.”
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