by Joseph Omoremi
CHICAGO- IL A combination of Privacy Acts and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exceptions were listed as reasons why details of the criminal investigation conducted on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria between 1990 and 1994 could not be disclosed as 50-pages out of 238 pages processed on him were released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Out of the 50-pages, the name of Nigeria’s president were missing to avoid “civil action proceeding, protect national security, internal personnel rules and practices of an agency
as well as information prohibited by federal law and information that is confidential and privileged.”
“The portion not disclosed were except from disclosure by FIOA” said Angela C. Davis, DEA Unit Chief before the District of Columbia U.S. District Court adding “ DEA is in the process of reviewing additional records for future production.”
The next set date is December 1, 2025. Out of the processed pages, 172 of the pages were withheld, 50 pages released, 12-pages undergoing consultation and the rest four pages non-responsive.
She explained that Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from FOIA which prevented the release of the held pages and stressed “this is a standard notification and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist.”
The FBI and the DEA are the two remaining defendants from 10-FOIA requests by Aaron Greenspan seeking details criminal investigation on President Tinubu of Nigeria while working as an accountant and stockbroker in Chicago.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Department of State (State), and the Executive Office for the United State Attorneys (EOUSA) were part of the five US agencies served with FOIA request by Greenspan.
On April 8, 2025, U.S District Judge Beryl A. Howell in Chicago ordered both FBI and DEA to “search for and process non-exempt records to the FOIA requests directed to these agencies.”
The judge also ordered FBI, DEA and Greenspan to “file jointly, by May 2, 2025, a report on the
status of any outstanding issues in this case.”
The FOIA came about when six accounts linked to Bola Tinubu now Nigerian President with Heritage First Bank in Country Club Hills, a suburb of Chicago were frozen and $460,000 forfeited to the U.S government out of over $2millions found in First Heritage Bank, Citibank N.A and Citibank, International.
