By Amah
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A US federal judge has given the administration of President Donald Trump four additional days to comply with a court order concerning records sought from federal agencies over a long-running case involving President Bola Tinubu.
US District Judge Beryl Howell reportedly set August 21, 2026 as the new deadline after US Attorney Jeanine Pirro sought an additional 10 days to comply with the order involving records held by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development is linked to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation that has been pending for several years and seeks access to government records connected to the historical US investigation and 1993 civil forfeiture proceedings involving funds linked to Tinubu.
The latest development was highlighted by US-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, which has been campaigning for the release of the records. The firm said the court’s decision reinforces the argument that the documents should now be made public.
The dispute gained renewed attention in July after the firm, which was engaged by former Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, said it had begun circulating more than 60 pages of DOJ records and related court materials, concerning the historical forfeiture case to members of the Trump administration and Congress.
The underlying controversy dates back to a 1993 US civil forfeiture case, involving funds associated with Tinubu. The matter has repeatedly resurfaced in Nigerian political and legal debates, particularly since the 2023 presidential election.
Importantly, the forfeiture proceedings were civil rather than criminal, and Nigeria’s Presidential Election Petition Court previously held that the petitioners failed to establish that Tinubu had been convicted of a criminal offence in the United States.
The current FOIA litigation, therefore, concerns access to government records, not a new criminal conviction or finding against the Nigerian president.
Von Batten-Montague-York has nevertheless argued that US strategic relations with Nigeria should not prevent disclosure of records that are legally releasable.
With the new August 21 deadline, attention is now focused on whether the DOJ and the agencies involved will release additional records, withhold portions under FOIA exemptions, or seek further legal relief.
The case could add a new chapter to the long-running controversy surrounding Tinubu’s US forfeiture records, the FBI and DEA files, and the historical allegations linked to the 1990s investigation.
Recent reports identify the FOIA litigation as an ongoing legal process and distinguish the historical civil forfeiture proceedings from a criminal conviction.
