Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday. He faces an eight-count charge relating to forgery, fraud, and impersonation. Adeyemi has been in detention since July 14, when he was arrested on the strength of a bench warrant issued by the court.
The court ordered Adeyemi's remand at Kuje Prison until October 12, when the full-blown hearing will commence. The prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, applied for an accelerated hearing of the case. Counsel to the defendant, Genesis Francis, failed to persuade the court to hear his client's bail application.
The office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has taken over the case from the police. Among those billed to testify in the matter are the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Paul Emmanuel; Jeremiah Imoukhede; and Ituah Sylvester. Other witnesses are civil servants working in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
Before his arrest, Adeyemi had granted a television interview from his hideout, alleging that his withdrawal from public view was due to threats to his life. He dismissed the insinuation that he was hiding from law enforcement agencies to evade investigation into his alleged involvement in the PFIPC fraud. Adeyemi also maintained his allegation that he paid N400 million, through a proxy, to President Tinubu's Chief of Staff, Gbajabiamila, to secure his appointment as DG of the disputed council.
An interim police investigation report exposed how Adeyemi allegedly forged appointment letters and official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate federal government agency. The investigation was initiated after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Inspector-General of Police on October 17, 2025, over the activities of individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.
Adeyemi, identified as the principal suspect, allegedly presented himself as the DG of the council and operated from an office within the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja. One of those allegedly linked to the fraud, Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola, was said to have died in a fire at a hotel in Abuja. Meanwhile, Adeyemi, who has since denied that the PFIPC was non-existent, demanded an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the controversy surrounding the alleged N1.3 billion budget insertion for the council in the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
In an open letter to President Tinubu, Adeyemi said he was prepared to provide documentary evidence and fully cooperate with investigators once an independent panel was constituted. He recommended that the panel include representatives of civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), independent media organisations, international financial institutions, human rights groups, and diplomatic missions, as well as the ICPC and the EFCC.
Key points
- The defendant faces eight counts of forgery, fraud, and impersonation.
- Adeyemi allegedly forged presidential letter-headed papers and a request for collaboration with the Ministry.
- The prosecution has applied for an accelerated hearing of the case.
