According to Babatunde Ogala, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the recent decision by a U.S. District Court ordering the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to make documents linked to President Bola Tinubu public is neither novel nor incriminating.
The court ordered the two agencies to find and handle non-exempt records pertaining to several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made by Aaron Greenspan, the founder of PlainSite and an American researcher, on April 8, 2025, under the direction of Judge Beryl Howell.
In 2022 and 2023, Greenspan submitted 12 FOIA requests to get information regarding an early 1990s narcotics ring located in Chicago. Abiodun Agbele, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and President Bola Tinubu were among the people included in the demands.
According to Ogala’s response to the news, which The Nation cited, the issue has already been settled and the current media frenzy is just sensationalism.
“That issue has been resolved for a long time. For now, Ogala said, it’s merely a sensational subject in the media.
He disclosed that more than twenty years prior, he had heard of Greenspan’s previous attempts to get the same materials.
This application was developed by Greenspan in 2003. As it happens, I was in the photo at the time. In order to provide information about reports of any investigation they conducted on the President, the FBI, CIA, and DEA were all involved in this action,” he added.
President Tinubu was never found guilty of any wrongdoing in the case, according to Ogala.
According to him, “the President was found not to have been liable for any offense in a matter that was long concluded in Chicago.”
While acknowledging that certain monies associated with the case had been confiscated, he made it clear that Tinubu was not criminally indicted in connection with the forfeiture.
According to reports, he did, however, handle $460,000 in monies that had long since been forfeited. Note that the monies, not the President personally, were the subject of the forfeiture order. The assets were in opposition to it. The issue was resolved, Ogala continued.
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He added that since 2003, the FBI study in question has been available to the public, and it was even mentioned in the petitions for the 2023 Nigerian election.
This report, which came from an FBI inquiry, had been out since 2003. Even the 2023 election petitions made use of it. Ogala emphasized, “The Court of Appeal ruled that the report was not a conviction.
He made the following statement in response to the most recent court order: “So, regarding the latest order for the papers to be released – they had already been released.” It is an old issue. A well-established, ancient tale.
Ogala cited Tinubu’s repeated trips to the United States to cast doubt on the veracity of allegations that he had been charged.
“Would the President have been permitted to enter the United States later if he had been indicted?” he inquired. The president of another nation, Panama’s, may be targeted by this nation and put on trial. Even without immunity, this individual was going into that country as often as he wanted. Thus, it is not a problem. It is merely sensationalism.
In closing, he implied that the story’s resuscitation had political motivations.
Ogala explained, “Of course, we know the seasons we’re in with all those who are banding together against the President now finding old issues and stories to try to discredit him.”
