A recent U.S. court filing has confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are required to submit a detailed schedule by July 31, 2025, for the release of unredacted documents concerning Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s historical involvement in heroin trafficking in Chicago.
This development follows a significant ruling on April 8, 2025, by Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which ordered the agencies to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests submitted by Aaron Greenspan, founder of the transparency platform PlainSite, and David Hundeyin, Editor-in-Chief of West Africa Weekly.
The lawsuit, formally titled Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Civil Action No. 23-1816 (BAH), was initiated in 2023 after six U.S. federal agencies—the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Department of State, and Department of Justice—initially refused to fully disclose documents related to Tinubu. These agencies had invoked privacy exemptions under FOIA to withhold the records, arguing that Tinubu’s personal privacy outweighed public interest. However, Judge Howell dismissed this argument as “neither logical nor plausible,” ruling that the FBI and DEA must search for and release all non-exempt records without redactions. Notably, the CIA was excluded from this court order, meaning it is not required to release any documents under this ruling.
In a joint status report filed on May 1, 2025, Greenspan challenged the FBI and DEA’s request for an additional 90 days to identify and produce the requested documents. He argued that the agencies had already identified relevant records and should release them within one week, with all outstanding production completed within two weeks. Greenspan criticized the proposed 90-day timeline as unnecessary, noting that the agencies provided “no rationale whatsoever” for requiring three months. He also notified the court of his intent to recover $440.22 in legal expenses incurred during the litigation process.
The FBI and DEA, in their defense, stated that they had begun searching for the requested records but needed the additional time to complete the process thoroughly. They proposed submitting a joint status report by July 31, 2025, outlining their schedule for document release. The plaintiffs, Greenspan and Hundeyin, rejected this timeline and advocated for a shorter deadline of May 31, 2025, to expedite transparency.
A compromise was ultimately reached, as detailed by Hundeyin in an X post on May 2, 2025. He explained, “While they [FBI and DEA] initially requested a further 90 days to identify and produce the unredacted files, we pushed back on that and demanded this to be done within 7 days. The final position agreed by both parties is that the FBI and DEA are to respond with a schedule for releasing the unredacted pages by July 31.” This agreement ensures that the agencies will outline a clear timeline for compliance by the specified date.
The case has a complex history. Between October 2023 and March 2024, the FBI released over 3,000 pages of documents in five batches, all heavily redacted and devoid of any mention of Tinubu’s name, frustrating the plaintiffs’ efforts to obtain meaningful information. In a controversial filing in November 2024, the DEA argued that Tinubu’s privacy rights superseded the Nigerian public’s right to scrutinize their president’s background, a stance that Judge Howell rejected in her April ruling. The court had previously set a deadline of May 2, 2025, for the agencies to submit a release schedule, which led to the latest filings.
Hundeyin highlighted a critical development in his May 2 X post, noting, “The really significant news here is that the response from the FBI and DEA has ruled out the possibility of an appeal. They are complying with the order and they will respond with a timetable for releasing the unredacted files by July 31.” This was corroborated by Greenspan during a May 1, 2025, episode of PlainSite Office Hours, where he confirmed that the U.S. government would not appeal Judge Howell’s ruling, signaling a major victory for the plaintiffs.
Despite the agencies’ apparent attempts to delay the process, Greenspan and Hundeyin remain steadfast in their pursuit of transparency. Their joint efforts aim to uncover unredacted U.S. law enforcement records that detail Tinubu’s alleged involvement in heroin trafficking, a matter of significant public interest in Nigeria and beyond. The plaintiffs’ persistence has already yielded results, with the court’s rejection of privacy exemptions and the agencies’ commitment to a release schedule marking important steps toward full disclosure.
As the July 31, 2025, deadline approaches, the case continues to draw attention, with Greenspan and Hundeyin leveraging legal and public platforms to maintain pressure on the FBI and DEA. The outcome of this lawsuit could set a precedent for FOIA requests involving foreign leaders and underscore the importance of transparency in international governance.
