FBI, US drug agency seek 90-day extension to release Tinubu records

FBI, US drug agency seek 90-day extension to release Tinubu records

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have announced that their search for records relating to President Bola Tinubu is still underway, with both agencies requesting up to 90 more days to complete the process.

The agencies aim to submit a joint report to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by July 31, despite earlier expectations that the documents would be made available this week, following a court order.

The order was issued by Judge Beryl Howell on April 8 after an American citizen, Aaron Greenspan, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking documents tied to a 1990s drug investigation reportedly involving President Tinubu and others.

Judge Howell had previously rejected the agencies’ attempt to invoke a “Glomar response,” a legal strategy allowing them to neither confirm nor deny the existence of records. The court ruled that the agencies failed to justify withholding the information.

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However, in a joint status update filed Thursday—signed by Greenspan, U.S. Attorney Edward Martin, Jr., and Assistant Attorney M. Jared Littman—the parties acknowledged that the agencies had yet to finalize their search or disclose the records.

According to the report, the FBI and DEA have started looking for responsive, non-exempt documents and expect to finish their search within 90 days. Greenspan, however, challenged the timeline, arguing that the agencies should expedite the release of already-identified documents within a week and complete the remaining disclosures within two weeks.

“The defendants have not provided any explanation for why the search should take three months,” Greenspan stated, adding that he plans to seek reimbursement of his legal fees totaling $440.22.

The agencies, on their part, proposed filing another joint status update with the court by July 31 to provide further progress details, while Greenspan pushed for an earlier report by May 31.

Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, downplayed the significance of the records, noting that the documents relate to events from over three decades ago and contain no new revelations.

FBI, US drug agency seek 90-day extension to release Tinubu records