$346M U.S. Arms Deal with Nigeria Sparks Allegations of Tinubu Drug File Cover-Up

The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $346 million weapons sale to Nigeria, according to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency. The deal, which still awaits Congressional approval, includes advanced military equipment such as munitions, bombs, and rockets to bolster Nigeria’s counterterrorism operations.

The proposed sale will improve Nigeria’s capability to meet current and future threats through operations against terrorist organisations and to counter illicit trafficking in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea,” the Pentagon stated on Wednesday, adding, “there will be no adverse impact on U.S. defence readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”

However, the timing of the approval has drawn scrutiny, coinciding with allegations tied to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case involving Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.

Recently, transparency advocate Aaron Greenspan, in a Joint Status Report filed in the FOIA case, accused the FBI and DEA of “playing politics” by deliberately delaying the release of unredacted drug files linked to Tinubu. The files reportedly contain heroin trafficking information that was previously redacted in documents released by the FBI, as highlighted by West Africa Weekly Editor-in-Chief David Hundeyin.

Neither the FBI, the DEA, nor President Tinubu has publicly responded to Greenspan’s claims.

Greenspan alleged the agencies were shielding Tinubu as a political favour. The timing of the U.S. weapons deal has prompted many to speculate whether the Trump administration may be leveraging the delayed release of these files as diplomatic pressure on Nigeria.

Sources familiar with the administration’s foreign policy approach describe it as “notoriously transactional,” raising concerns that Washington could be using the FOIA case to extract financial or strategic concessions.

While the U.S. State Department maintains the arms sale is intended to enhance regional stability, unanswered questions about the FOIA case have fueled suspicion.

Whether the release or continued suppression of the unredacted Tinubu files is tied to broader U.S.-Nigeria negotiations remains unclear. West Africa Weekly will continue monitoring developments in the arms deal and the FOIA case and report any further findings.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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