The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has informed a federal court in the United States that a former Chicago gangster with ties to President Bola Tinubu died.
This statement was made on Wednesday during a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C.
According to Peoples Gazette, US authorities stated in a court filing, “In light of receiving information that appears to confirm Mr Edwards’ death, DEA has begun its search for responsive records pertaining to him.”
Officials did not reveal when or how Edwards died, despite the fact that the announcement was worded in a way that suggested it would influence the schedule of future disclosure in the ongoing investigation.
According to the platform, the statement came as a result of the government’s efforts to conceal evidence about Tinubu’s participation in a large narcotics enterprise in Chicago.
Peoples Gazatte went on to say that the government had previously revealed evidence proving Edwards, along with Tinubu, was a senior member of a drug mafia operating in the northern United States in the 1980s. Investigators suspected Tinubu was the syndicate’s boss at the time.
However, papers pertaining to Tinubu continue to be withheld, with the FBI providing inconsistent claims to the court.
The FBI has been downplaying the number of materials connected to the Nigerian president in its hands, according to Aaron Greenspan, a public transparency campaigner who launched the freedom of information complaint alongside Nigerian journalist David Hundeyin.
In the joint status report filed on December 5, 2023, Greenspan stated that the FBI and other federal agencies “have not conducted an adequate search and are underrepresenting the number of pages responsive” to his request.
The FBI has disclosed hundreds of pages of documents linked to Mr Tinubu’s colleagues, including Mr Edwards and Adegboyega Mueez Akande; nevertheless, the entire file given thus far has been totally modified to erase Mr Tinubu’s name or any indication of his participation.
Greenspan requested the court to require the FBI to reveal the data containing Tinubu’s identity and position as soon as possible.
He highlighted the Chicago case file, which described how Tinubu surrendered over $460,000 in drug revenues, as proof that the FBI’s data on Mr Tinubu can no longer be kept secret.
