USA Judge Rejects Tinubu’s Last-Minute Lobby to Delay Release of Drug-Related Files, Sets August 21 Deadline

A United States federal judge has rejected a request for a 10-day extension in a legal battle over the release of decades-old Department of Justice records linked to a heroin trafficking investigation involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The judge instead granted a shorter extension and directed that the records be produced by August 21, 2026, according to details contained in the case.

The dispute dates back to a civil forfeiture case filed by the US Department of Justice in 1993 at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The government had alleged that funds held in US bank accounts associated with Tinubu were proceeds connected to a Nigeria-based heroin trafficking operation.

Tinubu was not criminally charged in connection with the case. However, he surrendered $460,000 as part of a settlement. The Nigerian president has consistently denied involvement in drug trafficking.

The latest development followed a request by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for a 10-day extension to comply with a court order concerning records held by the Department of Justice, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.

Tinubu subsequently joined the request for additional time, according to a post by Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, L.C.

However, US District Judge Beryl Howell declined to grant the full extension, allowing only four additional days and setting August 21 as the deadline.

Howell reportedly noted that the case had already been pending for more than three years, indicating the court’s reluctance to permit further delays in the proceedings.

The lobbying firm speculated that the requested delay could have provided Tinubu an opportunity to appeal to political contacts in Washington over concerns that releasing the records could affect US-Nigeria relations and his administration’s cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism matters.

The firm also called for any US government officials who might improperly interfere with the judicial or Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process on Tinubu’s behalf to be identified and held accountable.

The dispute has attracted considerable attention in Nigeria because of the potential political implications of the records ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The FOIA case was initiated in 2023 by journalist Aaron Greenspan, who accused US agencies of improperly withholding records relating to investigations involving Tinubu.

The case has also drawn the involvement of a lobbying firm reportedly retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, which has been advocating for the release of the documents.

According to the information provided by the firm, more than 60 pages of Department of Justice records have been submitted to the Trump administration and members of Congress, bringing renewed attention to the decades-old allegations.

With Judge Howell’s ruling, the US government and Tinubu’s legal team are now expected to meet the August 21 deadline, potentially bringing the long-running FOIA dispute closer to a significant disclosure.