The Presidency has criticized opposition figures and detractors of President Bola Tinubu for making a big deal out of a recent U.S. court order directing the FBI and DEA to release records tied to an old drug trafficking investigation.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, argued that anyone who actually read the court’s decision would see it revealed nothing new—just a rehash of long-public details.
The ruling, dated April 8 and available on the court’s website, was issued by Judge Beryl Howell. It instructed the agencies to process records requested by American researcher Aaron Greenspan under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Greenspan, who runs the legal transparency site PlainSite, had filed 12 FOIA requests between 2022 and 2023, seeking documents related to a 1990s Chicago drug operation. His requests included records on Tinubu and three others: Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.
But Bwala dismissed the uproar, predicting the released files wouldn’t contain any surprises. He blamed the media and opposition for spinning the story to stir controversy.
He said, “With respect to the FBI and DEA, the court said that in case because already documents have been released for long, that you think from the exempt there are documents that are yet to be released, come on the 2nd of May and talk to us so we can determine whether or not they are valid application before the court.”
“So 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. But you know, the opposition will want to feast on it because in the absence of a better idea, that is the only thing they can cling to, in the hope that they will probably misinterpret the public.”
Bwala concluded, “Nothing new at all. So let’s wait for the 2nd of May because there is actually nothing that they are seeking which has not been released. I mean it is intended to create unnecessary conversation as if there is an issue on the table.”