By Ayo Kehinde
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have requested a 90-day extension from a U.S. District Court in Columbia to release documents related to their investigations into a drug-related case allegedly involving President Bola Tinubu in the 1990s.
This follows an April 8 court order by Judge Beryl Howell, directing both agencies to release the requested documents by Friday, May 2, 2025. The ruling came in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by American transparency advocate, Aaron Greenspan.
However, in a joint status report filed on Thursday, May 1, the FBI and DEA informed the court that they had begun processing the FOIA requests but needed more time to complete their search for responsive records.
“Aaron Greenspan (‘Plaintiff’) and Defendants Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the only remaining defendants in this case, respectfully submit the following joint status report proposing a schedule to govern further proceedings, pursuant to the Court’s Order of April 8, 2025,” the filing read.
It added that the FBI and DEA “have initiated their searches for responsive, non-exempt, reasonably segregable portions of records requested by the plaintiff and anticipate completing their searches in ninety days.”
Greenspan, however, opposed the extension request, insisting the agencies should complete their searches and production by next week, or at the very least, release unredacted versions of already-identified documents within the same period and deliver the rest within 14 days.
“The defendants provide no rationale for why their search for documents should take 90 days,” Greenspan argued.
The court is yet to decide on the agencies’ request.
Between 2022 and 2023, Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests targeting several U.S. government institutions, including the FBI, DEA, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), State Department, CIA, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Indiana and Illinois. Of all the agencies, only the FBI and DEA remain involved in the ongoing legal battle.
