Presidency Reacts as US Court Orders FBI to Release Records on Investigation of Tinubu

• The presidency has described as 'mischievous and politically-mechanised nonsense' trending reports that a US court ordered the FBI and DEA to release drug investigation records on President Bola Tinubu
• The order, issued recently by Judge Beryl Howell, demands that top US law enforcement agencies release documents related to their investigation of Tinubu
• Legit.ng gathered that the US court's decision followed a lawsuit filed in June 2023 by American citizen Aaron Greenspan under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics and governance in Nigeria.

FCT, Abuja - Daniel Bwala, one of the presidential spokespersons, has branded reports that the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered top US law enforcement agencies to release confidential information generated on President Bola Tinubu during a “purported federal investigation in the 1990s" 'mischievous'.

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Legit.ng had reported how Judge Beryl Howell made the order on Tuesday, April 8, saying that protecting the information from public disclosure is “neither logical nor plausible.”

Howell ruled that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “must search for and process non-exempt records” in line with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

According to the judge, the FBI and DEA failed to provide information to “establish cognisable privacy interest exists in keeping secret the fact that Tinubu was a subject of criminal investigation”.

The judge ruled:

“The FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring.

“Any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests to the FBI and DEA for records about Tinubu are overcome by the public interest in release of such information."

Legit.ng reports that in 1993, Tinubu was said to have forfeited $460,000 to the American government after authorities linked the funds to proceeds of narcotics trafficking.

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US court reportedly directs FBI and anti-drug agency to release Tinubu’s investigation records

The issue of Tinubu’s forfeiture of the funds featured prominently at the presidential election petition court when his opponents, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, challenged the president’s eligibility to contest Nigeria’s presidency in 2023. But the election court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the suits, affirming Tinubu’s election.

Reacting to the new update, Barrister Bwala labelled it "politically mechanised nonsense" ahead of the 2027 election.

Bwala wrote on his verified X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday, April 13:

"Mischievous and politically mechanized nonsense under the guise of US Court orders FBI and DEA to act. They claim the order was given on Tuesday, but it never saw the light of the media until Sunday.

"There is nothing these opposition under the auspices of coalition for a wild goose chase cannot try to do to keep relevance.

"They went to meet @MBuhari and it was reported that he insisted the meeting be held in or on camera so that Nasir El-Rufai would not go and say Buhari is joining SDP and PDP.

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"Hard as they try, they are still struggling to convince Nigerians that they have any plan at all, needless alternative plan."

Tinubu meets FBI director

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that as countries of the world combat terrorism and cybercrime, President Tinubu called for stronger collaboration between Nigeria’s law enforcement agencies and the United States' FBI.

Tinubu spoke during a meeting with FBI director, Christopher Wray, at the state house in Abuja.

Security chiefs who attended the meeting included the national security adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the inspector-general of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; the chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd); and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng