Bola Tinubu Petitions US Court to Block Drug Records

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has petitioned the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to block the release of unredacted law enforcement records. The documents, held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration, include interview records from 1992 and 1993 and relate to a Chicago heroin ring investigation and a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving approximately $460,000.

The legal battle stems from a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, founder of the transparency group PlainSite. While Judge Beryl Howell ruled in April 2025 that the agencies could not conceal the fact that Tinubu was the subject of a criminal investigation, Tinubu's legal team argues that the actual contents of the files are protected under the US Privacy Act and FOIA Exemption 7(C). They contend that public curiosity about his background does not constitute a recognized public interest and that the request is an attempt to influence Nigerian politics and the 2027 presidential election.

Tinubu has consistently denied any wrongdoing. However, the policy firm Von Batten-Montague-York characterized the legal effort as an attempt to keep records hidden from the Nigerian public. Judge Howell recently granted a 10-day extension for the release of some records as the court considers Tinubu's request to reject Greenspan's motion for summary judgment.