A United States District Court judge, Beryl Howell, has granted U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro four additional days to respond to a request seeking the release of records related to U.S. investigations involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The development occurred in the long-running case, Aaron Greenspan v. Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys et al., Civil Action No. 23-1816 (BAH), which has remained before the court for more than three years.
The records sought are reportedly held by agencies under the U.S. Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The latest development was disclosed by Dr. Von Batten-Montague-York in a post on X, following a request by Pirro for additional time to comply with an earlier directive concerning the release of the records.
Tinubu’s legal team had also joined the U.S. government’s request for a 10-day extension to respond to a motion seeking the release of the documents.
In a notice filed before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Tinubu’s lawyers requested that their response remain on the same schedule as that of the defendants.
The filing, signed by Christopher W. Carmichael and Victor P. Henderson of Henderson Parks, LLC, stated that the President was joining the defendants’ request for an extension to file their response to the motion for summary judgment.
Judge Howell, however, declined to grant the full 10-day extension and instead allowed an additional four days, according to information published by Von Batten-Montague-York.
The lobbying firm, which has been retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, subsequently criticised the extension request and alleged that additional time could allow Tinubu to lobby U.S. officials against the release of the records.
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The allegation has not been established by the court.
Records Linked to 1990s Forfeiture Case
The case centres on a Freedom of Information Act request for records relating to U.S. investigations and allegations concerning Tinubu.
The records sought reportedly include documents connected to a 1990s U.S. asset-forfeiture proceeding involving $460,000 held in an account associated with Tinubu.
In 1993, a U.S. federal court ordered the forfeiture of the funds to the U.S. government, stating that they represented proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in transactions that violated money-laundering laws.
Tinubu has consistently denied any involvement in drug trafficking or related criminal activity.
His legal representatives have maintained that the forfeiture proceeding was a civil in rem case against the funds rather than a criminal prosecution against Tinubu. They have also argued that he was never arrested, indicted, arraigned or convicted of a drug-related offence in the United States.
The latest development is expected to attract renewed political attention in Nigeria as preparations for the 2027 presidential election gather momentum.
Tinubu is seeking a second term and is expected to face competition from major opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi.
