A United States federal judge has ruled that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is not required to release any records on President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria. The court found no evidence that the CIA ever collected intelligence on him.
According to The Gazette, Judge Beryl Howell made the ruling on April 8, 2025, after years of legal efforts by U.S. transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan and Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin. Their lawsuit demanded files from multiple U.S. agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
In court, the CIA maintained a “Glomar response,” which means it refused to confirm or deny the existence of any documents. The judge agreed with the agency, saying, “Given that plaintiff has failed to show that the CIA has ever officially acknowledged the existence or nonexistence of records responsive to his FOIA request, the CIA’s Glomar response must be sustained.”
Although the CIA is now cleared from the lawsuit, other agencies remain involved. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have already released a set of documents between 2023 and 2024.
These records showed that Tinubu was investigated in the 1990s over suspected links to drug trafficking and money laundering. That investigation led to a forfeiture of $460,000 in 1993.
The controversy surrounding the case reemerged during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election. Tinubu denied any wrongdoing, but the issue remained a topic of public interest during his campaign.
While the FBI and DEA initially resisted the FOIA requests, they later complied and handed over documents they considered relevant. Judge Howell noted that the agencies had fulfilled their basic obligations but asked them to go further.
She directed both the FBI and DEA to search again for any remaining records that could still be released. The court asked for a joint update on their progress by May 2, 2025.
The FBI has not responded to a request for comment from The Gazette. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s presidency declined to speak on the matter.
Article updated 1 day ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
