FBI Confirms Tinubu's Past Criminal Investigation

A sworn declaration filed by the FBI on August 28, 2023, in a US federal court revealed that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was a subject of a criminal investigation by the FBI and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the early 1990s. This declaration is part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking access to law enforcement records related to Tinubu.

The FBI indicated that the records were compiled during investigations into drug-trafficking crimes. Tinubu's legal team has dismissed these claims as politically motivated, particularly as Nigeria approaches the 2027 presidential election, where opposition politician Atiku Abubakar is a contender.

The case was initiated by Aaron Greenspan, who requested Tinubu's entire FBI file from 1992 and 1993, linked to a Chicago-based heroin trafficking and money-laundering operation. The court's ruling in April 2025 did not find Tinubu guilty of any drug-trafficking offenses.

Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President, criticized the claims as a desperate political maneuver.