President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been linked to at least three separate United States cases connected to an alleged drug-trafficking and money-laundering network investigated by American authorities in the 1990s. American journalist and transparency activist Aaron Greenspan disclosed this information during an interview. Greenspan is currently involved in a long-running legal battle in the United States over access to historical records held by American law enforcement agencies concerning Tinubu and Nigerian businessman Abiodun Agbele.
Greenspan's case, Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, is a civil action concerning access to government records. Court records show that Greenspan filed multiple FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023 with agencies including the FBI, DEA, CIA and other US government departments. The records sought include material concerning Tinubu and Agbele. Greenspan has described Tinubu's alleged connection to the investigation as financial rather than direct involvement in the distribution of heroin.
According to Greenspan, the three cases he identified include a series of criminal indictments from 1992 involving people allegedly connected to the network, a separate criminal matter involving Agbele, and a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving about $460,000 held in an account in Tinubu’s name. The 1992 indictments involved other individuals associated with the alleged drug network. The case involving Agbele is also separate from the 1993 forfeiture proceeding involving funds in an account associated with Tinubu.
The 1993 civil forfeiture case concerned money held in an account in Tinubu’s name and resulted in the funds being forfeited to the United States. This case was a civil forfeiture proceeding, rather than a criminal conviction against Tinubu. Greenspan has cited testimony involving US law enforcement officials in proceedings connected to the network and has argued that the records provide a broader picture of the investigation.
Greenspan has also raised the possibility of a fourth case involving Tinubu, which he said could be a criminal indictment filed under seal. However, Greenspan stressed that he has not established that such an indictment exists. The journalist said the records he has examined contain considerable details about financial transactions, bank accounts and people connected to the investigation.
The Nigerian Presidency has maintained that the court proceedings concern Greenspan’s attempts to obtain government records and do not amount to a criminal trial of the Nigerian president. Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the ongoing US litigation should not be portrayed as a criminal case against Tinubu. Tinubu was allowed to intervene in the FOIA case after expressing privacy and legal concerns over the potential release of some of the records.
The litigation took another major turn in April 2025 when US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled on the federal agencies’ earlier refusal to confirm or deny whether certain records existed. In August 2026, the FBI submitted records relating to the Tinubu investigation to Judge Howell for confidential review rather than releasing them directly to Greenspan. The case has remained active since then, with Greenspan continuing his efforts to obtain the records.
Key points
- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu linked to three US cases connected to alleged drug-trafficking and money-laundering network.
- The cases include a series of criminal indictments from 1992, a separate criminal matter involving Abiodun Agbele, and a 1993 civil forfeiture proceeding involving $460,000 held in an account in Tinubu’s name.
- The Nigerian Presidency maintains that the court proceedings concern Greenspan’s attempts to obtain government records and do not amount to a criminal trial of the Nigerian president.
