Alleged Drug Trafficking: How Trump Is Backing FBI, DEA To Keep Tinubu’s Records Secret

The administration of United States President Donald Trump is reportedly backing efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to keep some historical records concerning Nigerian President Bola Tinubu from public disclosure.

According to a Sahara Reporters exclusive, the development followed a fresh court filing by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, headed by Jeanine Pirro, a prominent Trump ally appointed by the President, in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking access to records relating to Tinubu.

In the September 23, 2026 filing, the government urged a federal judge to grant summary judgment in favour of the FBI and DEA, arguing that the agencies had conducted reasonable searches and were legally entitled to withhold or redact portions of the records.

The case was instituted by transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who has been seeking historical FBI and DEA records concerning Tinubu, Nigerian businessman Abiodun Agbele and others in connection with an alleged drug-trafficking and money-laundering investigation dating to the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Pirro’s office, in its latest submission, argued that some of the records contain information protected by federal law, including grand jury material, pen-register information, confidential sources, investigative techniques, prosecutorial strategy and personal information.

The US government also relied on provisions of the FOIA law which permit law-enforcement agencies to withhold information where its release could threaten an individual’s life or physical safety. It said some documents reflected the “thought process, strategy and legal impressions” of officials involved in federal investigations.

The filing has renewed attention on Pirro’s role in the case, particularly because of her close political relationship with Trump. Trump appointed her interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia in May 2025, while the Senate confirmed her nomination in August of the same year. Before her appointment, she had spent nearly two decades at Fox News and was known as a strong Trump supporter.

However, the court documents do not state that Trump personally directed the FBI or DEA to suppress the records. Rather, the connection to the President comes through Pirro’s office, which is now defending the federal agencies’ position in court.

The dispute dates back to 2025 when a US federal court rejected the FBI and DEA’s attempt to neither confirm nor deny whether they possessed records responsive to Greenspan’s requests. The court ordered the agencies to search for and process non-exempt records, but did not order the release of all documents or determine the truth of the allegations concerning Tinubu.

Greenspan has since identified three US court cases which he says are connected to the historical investigation. They include a 1990s criminal prosecution, a case involving Agbele and a civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 held in an account in Tinubu’s name.

Greenspan has alleged that Tinubu’s connection to the investigation was financial rather than direct involvement in heroin distribution. He has also cited testimony by a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent in a criminal proceeding involving Lee Andrew Edwards.

The civil forfeiture case involved funds that US court records described as proceeds of narcotics trafficking or money involved in transactions prohibited by US law. The proceeding, however, was a civil forfeiture action and not a criminal conviction of Tinubu. The matter ended with the money being forfeited to the United States following a settlement and compromise.

Tinubu’s lawyers have also intervened in the FOIA case, asking the court to uphold the government’s redactions and withholding of records. They argued that the documents concern Tinubu’s private interests and that releasing identifying information could violate his privacy.

The Nigerian Presidency has maintained that the case should not be interpreted as a criminal prosecution of Tinubu. Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the Washington litigation as a civil FOIA dispute and stressed that no court had found Tinubu guilty of criminal wrongdoing.

According to the latest account, the FBI and DEA have released 399 pages of records, while withholding or redacting portions under exemptions covering grand jury materials, confidential sources, investigative techniques and personal privacy. The latest filing is therefore the Trump administration’s latest legal effort, through Pirro’s office, to defend the agencies’ refusal to release more of the records.

The legal battle is now centred on whether the remaining records should be made public or remain protected under US law, with Greenspan continuing to pursue disclosure and the federal government, backed by Pirro’s office, asking the court to uphold the FBI and DEA’s position.