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Tinubu drug case. The Nigerian Presidency has responded strongly to critics and opposition figures who have reacted to a recent U.S. court order mandating the FBI and DEA to release documents related to alleged drug trafficking links involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, dismissed the backlash, stating that the court’s ruling does not introduce any new information that isn’t already publicly known.
The court order, issued by Judge Beryl Howell on April 8, 2025, stems from a lawsuit filed by American legal transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Greenspan’s FOIA requests, filed between 2022 and 2023, sought details about a 1990s Chicago heroin trafficking ring and requested specific records on Tinubu and three other individuals: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
Bwala, however, downplayed the significance of the court’s decision.
“There is nothing actually in what was published in the ruling of the court that is new. Everything has been in the public domain for ages,” Bwala said.
He accused opposition leaders of “feasting” on the development to mislead the public and divert attention from pressing national issues.
“The opposition will want to feast on it… in the hope that they will probably misinterpret the public,” he added.
Judge Howell’s ruling directed the FBI and DEA to process and potentially release any non-exempt records related to the FOIA requests. However, a follow-up hearing has been scheduled for May 2, where it will be determined if there are any remaining valid exemptions or unreleased documents.
For now, Bwala insists there’s “nothing new” to expect, and the matter is being overhyped for political gain.
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