US Prosecutor Seeks Release of Tinubu's Drug Investigation Files

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may undergo renewed scrutiny due to a decades-old investigation in the United States after Jeanine Pirro, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, requested more time to comply with a court order for the release of records linked to the case. The records pertain to a Chicago-based heroin-trafficking investigation from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Pirro asked US District Judge Beryl Howell for an additional 10 days to meet the directive, but Howell granted only a four-day extension, setting the new deadline for August 21. The case was initiated by transparency activist Aaron Greenspan, who filed Freedom of Information Act requests for records concerning Tinubu and others involved in the investigation.

The lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, representing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, welcomed the Justice Department's actions and argued that US-Nigeria relations should not hinder the release of records involving allegations against a Nigerian leader.