The Presidency has dismissed reports suggesting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently facing a criminal trial in the United States over alleged involvement in cocaine-related activities, describing the matter before a US court as a civil dispute over access to government records.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said the case before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia was initiated under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and does not amount to a criminal charge or trial against Tinubu.
The Presidency said the case dates back to 2022, when Aaron Greenspan submitted FOIA requests to several US government agencies seeking records relating to Tinubu. Following the agencies’ refusal to release some of the requested records or confirm their existence, Greenspan filed Civil Action No. 23-1816 in 2023.
According to the statement, Tinubu was later permitted by the court to participate in the proceedings as an intervenor, while the CIA, Department of State, Department of the Treasury, IRS and the Executive Office for US Attorneys were removed from the case after successfully invoking the “Glomar defence”, which allows US agencies, in certain circumstances, to neither confirm nor deny the existence of investigative records.
The Presidency said the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration subsequently released 399 pages of records, although portions were redacted under exemptions provided by US law. Greenspan challenged the redactions, leading to the current stage of the litigation.
It explained that the agencies justified the redactions on grounds including protection of grand jury materials, attorney-client communications, law-enforcement information, personal privacy, confidential sources and investigative techniques.
The statement added that Tinubu, on the advice of his lawyers, had also invoked his rights under FOIA Exemption 7(C), which protects personal privacy in certain law-enforcement records.
The Presidency stressed that the release or withholding of records under FOIA does not, by itself, establish criminal liability, adding that the remaining issue before the court is whether the redactions made by the FBI and DEA comply with US law.
It said the plaintiff has until September 11, 2026, to file opposition and replies, while the FBI, DEA and Tinubu, as an intervenor, have until September 18 to respond.
The Presidency also urged Nigerian media organisations and the public to distinguish between the ongoing civil records-disclosure proceedings and claims that Tinubu is facing a criminal trial in the United States.
“The litigation is a civil records-disclosure dispute under FOIA. It does not constitute a criminal charge, trial, or judicial finding against President Tinubu,” the statement said.
Onanuga further stated that the outcome of the case would be determined by Judge Beryl A. Howell of the US District Court for the District of Columbia based on the evidence, applicable law and arguments of the parties, rather than political commentary.