A federal judge in the U.S. has ruled that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) does not need to release any files on Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, citing a lack of evidence suggesting that the agency collected intelligence on the leader. This decision, handed down by Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also addressed the actions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), stating that these agencies have already disclosed relevant documents but can further search their archives for any additional files that may be of public interest.
Judge Howell’s ruling on April 8, 2025, upheld the CIA’s Glomar response, a method employed by federal agencies to neither confirm nor deny the existence of requested information. This legal mechanism has been used for decades by intelligence and law enforcement agencies to avoid revealing sensitive details about investigations.
This decision concludes a lengthy legal battle initiated by American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, in collaboration with Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin, who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking records on Tinubu. While the CIA is excused from the case, the FBI and other U.S. agencies have already released documents that show Tinubu was investigated in the 1990s for alleged connections to narcotics trafficking, including the forfeiture of $460,000 in 1993—a scandal that resurfaced during Nigeria’s 2023 presidential elections.
Despite Tinubu’s denials of any wrongdoing, U.S. records have continued to fuel controversy. The judge noted that the FBI and DEA should search their records for any relevant documents that may still be withheld but could be in the public’s interest. The court has ordered the agencies to file a joint update on their findings by May 2, 2025.
The Nigerian presidency has not provided a comment on the judge’s ruling.
Source: Swifteradio.com.
