The U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has ordered the FBI and DEA to update the court by August 7, 2025, on the release of unredacted files from a 1993 heroin trafficking case that allegedly names Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
The lawsuit was originally filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by Aaron Greenspan with the support of journalist David Hundeyin, after an investigation by West Africa Weekly.
Although the agencies released some documents in 2023 and 2024, Tinubu’s name and those of his family were redacted. The judge ruled in May 2025 that the redactions must be removed, rejecting the FBI’s argument that national security was at risk.
Now, despite losing the case, the FBI wants until December 2025 to start releasing the unredacted documents, citing 10,000 backlogged FOIA requests. Greenspan has objected, calling the delay unreasonable.
The court has now set August 7 as the date for the agencies to report on when and how the unredacted files will be released.
