A U.S. federal judge has ordered the release of previously confidential documents relating to Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s alleged involvement in a 1990s drug trafficking and money laundering case.

The ruling, delivered by Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for improperly withholding the records. Both agencies had initially issued a “Glomar response,”  a formal refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the documents, a stance the court found “neither logical nor plausible.”

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), seeking access to records from the FBI, DEA, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) concerning Tinubu’s alleged ties to a Chicago-based heroin trafficking network in the early 1990s.

According to court documents, Tinubu was investigated for his suspected role in laundering proceeds from drug sales. Notably, he reportedly forfeited $460,000 in 1993 to U.S. authorities, believed to be linked to narcotics-related transactions.

In her decision, Judge Howell emphasized that the public’s right to access information outweighs potential privacy concerns in this matter. However, the court did not compel the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to release any documents, citing insufficient evidence that it possessed relevant records.

Following the ruling, the FBI and DEA are now required to discontinue their Glomar responses and begin the process of disclosing the requested documents. The agencies must submit a joint status update to the court by May 2, 2025, detailing their compliance and addressing any outstanding issues.