By 247ureports.com
The court-ordered deadline for final briefings in the long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking FBI and DEA records tied to President Bola Tinubu’s alleged connection to a 1990s Chicago heroin-trafficking investigation has now passed, according to U.S. advocacy firm Von Batten-Montague-York, which is tracking the case and expects the court to rule in favor of releasing at least part of the records.
Where the Case Stands
With briefing now complete, the firm says the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will proceed to review the arguments submitted by both sides and deliberate, barring any new developments. The firm said it believes the court will rule in favor of plaintiff Aaron Greenspan and order the release of portions of the alleged records — specifically predicting the court will protect information tied to sensitive law-enforcement methods while rejecting what the firm describes as Tinubu’s request for blanket privacy protection over the files. As of this report, the court had not issued a ruling.
Background: A Three-Year Legal Battle
The case originates from a series of FOIA requests Greenspan filed between 2022 and 2023 seeking records from the FBI, DEA, IRS, CIA, State Department and other federal agencies relating to a Chicago heroin-trafficking and money-laundering investigation from the early 1990s. The dispute centers on a 1993 civil forfeiture in which Tinubu surrendered $460,000 to the U.S. government over funds allegedly linked to narcotics trafficking; he was never criminally charged in connection with the matter.
Presiding Judge Beryl Howell ruled in April 2025 that the FBI and DEA’s refusal to confirm or deny the existence of Tinubu-related records — a so-called “Glomar response” — was “neither logical nor plausible,” given that both agencies had already officially confirmed investigations tied to Tinubu, and ordered them to search for and release non-exempt records. Since then, the case has moved through a lengthy and contentious process: the agencies requested and received multiple extensions, including a 90-day search period in mid-2025 and a later four-day extension in August 2026 after Judge Howell expressed frustration over missed deadlines, saying the court was unwilling to delay a matter it had already heard for more than three years. The CIA was excused from the case in April 2025 after stating it held no relevant intelligence.
Tinubu’s Position
President Tinubu has consistently and firmly denied any involvement in drug trafficking, dismissing the decades-old allegations. The Nigerian presidency has previously responded to developments in the case by stating there is nothing new to be revealed, noting that an earlier FBI agent’s report and a DEA report connected to the matter have already been in the public domain for more than 30 years.
What’s Next
The court has not indicated when it will issue a ruling. 247ureports.com will continue to track this case, which has drawn sustained attention in Nigeria given its direct relevance to a sitting president and its underlying claims about decades-old drug-trafficking allegations predating his political career.
