Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Key US agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), among others have said they will begin the release of documents on the life and times of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his sojourn in the United States.
The new twist on the release of documents on Nigeria’s president followed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Aaron Greenspan (Plaintiff) of Planesite, a research and content curating agency.
Court papers dated September 11, 2023 cited respondents/defendants to the FOIA to include the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), Department of State (State), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to court papers, “collectively “Defendants,” and together with Plaintiff, “the Parties,” respectfully submit the following joint status report pursuant to the Court’s Standing Order for Civil Cases, No. 4(b)(ii) (FOIA Cases):
“EOUSA has identified potentially responsive records and anticipates sending its initial response by the end of October 2023, and if warranted, will send subsequent responses every 30 days thereafter until production is complete. EOUSA is unable at this time to identify the volume of potentially responsive records.
“State (Department of State) will comply with the FOIA request. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii). State has identified potentially responsive records and anticipates sending its initial response by the end of October 2023, and if warranted, will send subsequent responses at a rate of 300 pages per month or 450 pages every 6 weeks until production is complete. Case 1:23-cv-01816-BAH Document 12 Filed 09/11/23 Page 1 of 3
“FBI will comply with the FOIA requests. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii). FBI has identified a total of approximately 2500 pages potentially responsive to FOIA requests 1553430-00 and 1587544-000. FBI plans a processing schedule of 500 pages per month, with an initial release anticipated by the end of October 2023. Pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C), FBI will not confirm or deny the existence of responsive records sought in requests 1588244-000 and 1593615-000. FBI believes a briefing schedule is premature at this time.
“IRS will comply with the FOIA request. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii). IRS is in the process of finalizing its search and expects to communicate with plaintiff about the results of its search by October 6, 2023. IRS believes a briefing schedule is premature at this time.
“CIA was not a party to the initial complaint. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff added CIA as a party in his amended complaint filed on August 28, 2023. ECF No. 8. Given the recency of the suit against CIA, CIA is not in a position at this juncture to estimate when a final determination will be made, to propose a schedule for production of documents, or to propose a schedule for the filing of dispositive motions. CIA will update the Court in a subsequent status report.
“DEA will comply with the FOIA request. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii). Pursuant to FOIA exemptions (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C), DEA will not confirm or deny the existence of responsive records. DEA believes a briefing schedule is premature at this time.
“The Parties respectfully propose that they file another joint status report on or before November 10, 2023, to update the Court on the status of the responses and to provide a proposal for further proceedings, if further proceedings are necessary,” the court papers said.
Recall that the FBI had expressed reluctance to turn over the documents in line with a freedom of information request first filed in 2022.
Disclosures anticipated are expected to answer questions about when Tinubu entered the U.S., under which name he entered and activities he has been involved in ever since.
Details about his forfeiture of $460,000 over drug dealing in Chicago in the 1990s are also expected to be in the records to be released.
