United States District Judge Beryl Howell has granted US Attorney Jeanine Pirro an additional four days to release records connected to longstanding allegations involving President Bola Tinubu.
The development was announced by US-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York L.C. in a post on X.
According to the firm, Pirro, who was appointed by US President Donald Trump, had requested a 10-day extension to complete the disclosure process.
Judge Howell, however, approved only four additional days, moving the deadline to August 21.
The lobbying firm said the judge took into consideration the length of time the case had remained unresolved, noting that the matter had been pending for more than three years.
“U.S. Attorney Pirro requested an additional 10 days, but Judge Beryl Howell granted only four additional days, until August 21, noting that this case has already been pending for more than three years,” the firm stated.
The records being sought are linked to allegations involving Tinubu and previous drug-trafficking investigations in the United States.
Following the ruling, Von Batten-Montague-Montague-York welcomed what it described as renewed efforts by the US Department of Justice to make the documents public.
“We deeply appreciate U.S. Attorney #Pirro and the DOJ’s renewed motivation to release these documents, and we agree with Judge Howell. This case has been pending for three years. The time to release the #Tinubu drug-trafficking files is now,” the firm said.
The lobbying group also argued that Nigeria’s diplomatic relationship with the United States should not prevent scrutiny of allegations involving public officials.
It added, “As President #Trump has indicated, our shared interests with #Nigeria do not mean supporting an alleged drug trafficker.”
BACKSTORY:
The development is linked to a long-running legal and records-disclosure dispute in the United States involving historical allegations concerning President Bola Tinubu. The matter relates to a 1990s US civil forfeiture case in which Tinubu’s name appeared in court records connected to funds that US authorities alleged were associated with narcotics-related activities. The allegations have been politically contentious, and their existence in court records should not be presented as proof that Tinubu committed drug-trafficking offences.
The issue resurfaced in 2026 after Washington-based lobbying firm Von Batten-Montague-York, which has been retained by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, began circulating historical US Department of Justice records concerning the case to officials in the Donald Trump administration and members of Congress.
The firm has continued to campaign for the release of additional records, arguing that documents connected to the historical investigation should be made available for public scrutiny. It has also referred to previous Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation concerning the records.
Against that background, the latest court decision concerns the timeline for the release of the requested records. Judge Beryl Howell reportedly declined to grant the full 10-day extension sought by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro and instead allowed four additional days, setting August 21 as the new deadline.
The development has renewed political attention around the decades-old allegations and the question of whether additional US government records concerning the matter will become public.
