US Court Grants Four-Day Extension for Release of Tinubu Drug-Trafficking Records

US Court Grants Four-Day Extension for Release of Tinubu Drug-Trafficking Records

A United States federal prosecutor appointed by President Donald Trump has begun moves to comply with a court order compelling the release of records held by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) , Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) , and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) concerning historical drug-trafficking allegations involving Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu . US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro requested an additional 10 days to comply with the court’s directive, but US District Judge Beryl Howell granted only a four-day extension, setting August 21, 2026 as the deadline for compliance, noting that the case had already been pending for more than three years.

President Tinubu has formally joined the Department of Justice’s request for additional time in the long-running Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. According to a filing obtained by Von Batten-Montague-York, a Washington-based policy advisory and lobbying firm retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Tinubu’s legal team submitted a notice of joinder to ensure his response remained on the same schedule as the defendants’. The filing, titled “Notice of Joinder,” was submitted before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, et al., and identifies Tinubu as “Intervenor Bola Ahmed Tinubu”. The filing was signed by Christopher W. Carmichael of Henderson Parks LLC, but the court rejected the full extension request, maintaining the August 21 deadline. According to the lobbying firm’s clarification of the court’s timetable, the DOJ must by that date tell Judge Howell its position on the demand for the release of the records, while Tinubu also has until August 21 to formally object to their disclosure.

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The case was brought by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who filed FOIA requests seeking records from US law enforcement agencies relating to investigations involving Tinubu. The records concern a US federal investigation into a Chicago-based heroin-trafficking network that operated between 1988 and 1991, with US authorities investigating individuals including Adegboyega Mueez Akande and Abiodun Agbele in connection with the network. According to previously released US court records, the investigation examined funds deposited into several US bank accounts reportedly opened or controlled by Tinubu, and in January 1992, US authorities obtained a court order freezing accounts containing more than $1.4 million** allegedly connected to Tinubu. On **October 4, 1993**, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ordered the forfeiture of **$460,000 held in an account at First Heritage Bank in Tinubu’s name to the US government, with the court order stating that the funds constituted proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions prohibited under US federal law.

Von Batten-Montague-York, which has been campaigning for the release of the documents, welcomed the development and commended Pirro and the Justice Department for taking steps towards complying with the court’s directive. The firm has argued that US strategic interests with Nigeria should not prevent the release of the records, stating, “As President Trump has indicated, our shared interests with Nigeria do not mean supporting an alleged drug trafficker.” The firm has also alleged that the DOJ under former President Joe Biden fought the release of the FOIA records, while asserting that the DOJ under President Trump would not protect an alleged drug trafficker linked to heroin smuggling from Nigeria through Illinois to Indiana. In July 2026, Von Batten-Montague-York disclosed that it had begun distributing more than 60 pages of DOJ documents and related court materials concerning Tinubu’s 1993 civil forfeiture case to officials in the Trump administration and members of Congress.

President Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and rejected allegations linking him to drug trafficking. His lawyers have maintained that the 1993 proceeding was an in rem civil forfeiture case brought against the money rather than a criminal prosecution against Tinubu personally, and they have emphasised that Tinubu was never arrested, indicted, arraigned, or criminally convicted of a drug-trafficking offence in the United States. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has previously informed the Presidential Election Petition Court that the decision was not against Tinubu but against funds in accounts opened in his name, and that the compromise terms that led to the forfeiture were preceded by express admission that Tinubu did not admit the commission of any drug-related conduct. In April 2025, following Howell’s ruling, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the court order did not amount to an indictment of Tinubu and that the records related to an old matter, with the distinction between the civil forfeiture and a criminal conviction remaining central to Tinubu’s defence whenever the issue resurfaces.

The development comes as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, in which Tinubu is expected to seek re-election. The issue previously resurfaced during legal challenges to Tinubu’s victory in Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, when Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party candidate Peter Obi argued that the forfeiture should have affected Tinubu’s eligibility, but Nigeria’s Presidential Election Petition Court dismissed the challenges and affirmed Tinubu’s election. The court’s deadline of August 21, 2026, for compliance with the records disclosure order suggests that the legal proceedings are fast-tracking towards a resolution, though the exact scope and content of the materials to be released remain unclear. Unless Judge Howell requests further information or arguments, the court is expected to regard the arguments as complete after September 18 and proceed to a ruling.

US Court Grants Four-Day Extension for Release of Tinubu Drug-Trafficking Records