According to a report published on September 1, 2026, a sworn declaration filed by the FBI in a U.S. federal court confirms that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was identified as a subject of a criminal investigation involving the FBI and the DEA in the early 1990s.The declaration, submitted on August 28, was filed as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking access to law enforcement records concerning Tinubu.
Portions of the declaration indicate that the requested documents were created during investigations involving several individuals suspected of drug trafficking offences.The lobbying firm representing former Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar said it had received numerous documents from the FBI. The materials are currently being reviewed and redacted before being made available to the public.The latest filing follows a significant ruling in April 2025 by a U.S. federal judge, who noted that earlier public filings by the U.S.
Department of Justice had identified Tinubu as a subject of criminal investigations involving multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies. The judge subsequently ordered the FBI and DEA to search for and process records that were not exempt from disclosure under FOIA.The lawsuit was initiated by Aaron Greenspan, who requested records relating to Tinubu, including his FBI file and interview records from 1992 and 1993.
The records were linked to a wider investigation into a Chicago-based operation involving alleged heroin trafficking and money laundering during the early 1990s.However, the 2025 court ruling did not establish that Tinubu had committed a drug-trafficking offence. It also did not indicate that he had been formally charged or found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Being identified as a subject of an investigation does not, by itself, mean that a person was charged with or convicted of a crime.The FBI has continued to withhold or redact portions of the requested documents, citing exemptions under U.S. freedom-of-information laws relating to personal privacy, confidential sources and law enforcement methods.
Tinubu’s legal representatives have also opposed the release of some of the records.Interest in the documents has increased during a politically sensitive period in Nigeria, as political parties and potential candidates prepare for the 2027 presidential election. Atiku Abubakar, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, remains a major opposition figure against Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Any further release of the U.S. law enforcement records could become an important political issue in Nigeria, particularly if the documents provide new information about the investigations conducted in the 1990s.
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