Tinubu not indicted in FBI files — Presidency reacts to U.S. court ruling
The Nigerian Presidency has dismissed fresh scrutiny surrounding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following a recent U.S. court ruling directing further review of files by American law enforcement agencies.
This comes after Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) must conduct additional searches for any non-exempt records relating to Tinubu that may be in the public interest.
However, she upheld the CIA’s right to decline confirmation or denial of any intelligence it may have on Tinubu, effectively excusing the agency from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by U.S. transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan and Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin.
While the FBI had previously released documents between 2023 and 2024 showing that Tinubu was investigated in the 1990s over alleged ties to drug trafficking—leading to the forfeiture of $460,000—the Presidency insists that the files contain no indictment and are not new.
“There is nothing new to be revealed,” said presidential aide Bayo Onanuga in a statement on Sunday. “The report by Agent Moss of the FBI and the DEA report have been in the public space for more than 30 years. The reports did not indict the Nigerian leader.”
Onanuga added that Tinubu’s legal team is reviewing the U.S. court decision, but stressed that the matter is considered settled from the government’s standpoint.
The court has ordered the FBI and DEA to provide an update on their renewed searches by May 2, 2025.
Meanwhile, the CIA will not be required to release or confirm the existence of any files on the Nigerian leader.
