Tinubu Drug Probe: FBI Confirms Investigation In New Court Filing
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed in a sworn court declaration that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the subject of a criminal investigation linked to drug-trafficking activities in the early 1990s.
The declaration was filed on August 28, 2026, before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving American transparency activist Aaron Greenspan.
According to the filing, the records sought by Greenspan were compiled as part of the FBI’s investigation of multiple individuals for drug-trafficking crimes.
The FBI also stated that the court had previously determined that an official acknowledgment had been made of an investigation involving Tinubu.
Greenspan’s requests include Tinubu’s FBI file and interview records from 1992–1993. The case dates back to FOIA requests seeking records from US agencies concerning an investigation into a Chicago heroin-trafficking operation.
In April 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration could no longer use a “Glomar” response to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of records relating to the investigation.
However, the ruling did not establish that Tinubu committed drug trafficking or any other offence.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has asked the US court to prevent further release of the records, with his lawyers citing his privacy rights and urging the court to allow the FBI and DEA to maintain existing redactions and withholdings.
The latest development comes amid heightened political interest in Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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