‘Phantom’ council DG detained

Gbajabiamila listed as witness   The purported Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, has been taken into custody following a bench warrant by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. Adeyemi was picked up on Tuesday, a few hours after Justice Mohammed Umar ordered his immediate arrest for […]

• Gbajabiamila listed as witness

 

The purported Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, has been taken into custody following a bench warrant by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

Adeyemi was picked up on Tuesday, a few hours after Justice Mohammed Umar ordered his immediate arrest for failing to appear before the court over charges bordering on forgery and impersonation.

The judge issued the bench warrant against Adeyemi following an oral application made by the police lawyer and prosecutor, Wisdom Madaki, directing that he should be brought to the court on September 30 for arraignment.

Adeyemi was billed to take his plea on an eight-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025, relating to forgery, fraud, and impersonation at the court located in Maitama Area of Abuja.

Although the matter was listed as No. 12 on the court’s cause list, the defendant failed to appear. A lawyer, who identified himself as Genesis Francis, announced his appearance on Adeyemi’s behalf.

Daily Trust reports that Adeyemi is at loggerheads with the Presidency over the controversy surrounding the operation of the ‘fictitious’ PFIPC.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had issued a disclaimer, dismissing the existence of the council, but Adeyemi countered, describing it as “a cloud of public misrepresentation, institutional denial and a deliberate attempt to silence legitimate questions that concern matters of national interest.”

Consequently, the Presidency, in a July 1 statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, tagged Adeyemi a “con artist” and stated that the police had filed a criminal charge against him.

The statement was, however, silent on the inclusion of the disputed council in the budget and an alleged sum of N400 million Adeyemi claimed to have paid Gbajabiamila by proxy to facilitate his appointment.

Findings further revealed that Adeyemi got approvals for the employment of 300 staff members and an office space at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, and opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

But the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) insisted that the disputed council had no account with the apex bank, contradicting the Presidency’s statement that Adeyemi used fake documents and misled the OAGF to fraudulently open a CBN account.

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu consequently directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on July 7 to investigate the activities of the controversial council and submit a report within 30 days.

In an interview with Channels TV’s Politics Today on Monday, Adeyemi, who had gone into hiding over alleged attempts on his life, maintained that he did not have trust in the ICPC to conduct an impartial investigation and called for an independent probe.

The embattled ‘DG’ said assigning the ICPC to probe the scandal involving him, Gbajabiamila and other government officials amounted to the government investigating itself, insisting that the commission would not indict the Chief of Staff. He demanded an independent, multi-stakeholder investigative panel to probe the scandal.

When the case was called on Tuesday before Justice Umar, the prosecution counsel, Madaki, noted that the defendant had repeatedly failed to appear for trial.

“My lord, this is the fifth time this case is coming up, and all the adjournments have been at the instance of the defendant,” Madaki lamented.

Consequently, relying on Section 394 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, the prosecution counsel urged the court to issue a warrant for Adeyemi’s arrest.

The application was opposed by the defence counsel, Francis, who blamed Adeyemi’s absence in court on alleged threats to his life.

He drew the court’s attention to the fact that his client was present for his arraignment on May 16. According to the lawyer, the defendant intended to remain alive to stand trial, adding that “since then, this case has become a matter of public importance, and there have been many threats to his life.”

“The defendant is afraid for his life. He has to be alive to be able to face trial. They have been looking for him even without an order of court,” Francis said.

Responding, Justice Umar said, “The court will help to keep him alive.”

The judge consequently acceded to the prosecution’s application, noting that whereas the case was filed on November 27, 2025, proceedings did not commence until December 4, 2025.

Justice Umar noted that since the charge was filed, the defendant had appeared before the court only once.

“Since then, he has failed to appear before this court on four consecutive dates,” the judge added.

He, therefore, issued a warrant mandating security agencies to arrest and produce the defendant before the court on September 30 for arraignment.

The police on Tuesday arrested Adeyemi in Osun State through operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), adding that he had been taken into custody. The arrest came less than five hours after Justice Umar’s order.

The Personal Assistant to the Force Public Relations Officer, Aminu Koji, confirmed the development in a terse statement to journalists.

“We have just confirmed the arrest of Mr. Adeniyi Adeyemi by a team of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Osun State,” Koji said in a statement.

 

Gbajabiamila, others to testify against ‘DG’

Checks by our correspondent showed that those listed to testify in the matter are Gbajabiamila, one Paul Emmanuel, Jeremiah Imoukhede and Ituah Sylvester. Other witnesses are civil servants working in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Akimbo Shola and Adamu Balongu, as well as a Deputy Superintendent of Police.

The federal government, through the police, filed the charges on November 27, 2025, accusing Adeyemi and two other suspects – identified simply as Femi and Anu and said to be at large – of conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.

According to the charge sheet, the defendants allegedly forged several official documents, including a purported presidential appointment letter, State House letterheads, a conveyance approval for the establishment of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, requests for approval of staff accounts, applications for office space and letters seeking collaboration with a federal ministry.

The charge read in part, “That you Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew ‘M’ 38 years of 2nd Floor, Federal Secretariat Complex Abuja, Femi, surname unknown and Anu, surname unknown, now at large, on or about 8th day of March, 2024 within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court forged appointment letter purported to have been appointed by his Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, President Federal Republic of Nigeria, and signed by Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1(2)(c) of Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.”

Before the charges were filed an interim police investigation report was said to have exposed how the defendant allegedly forged appointment letters and official documents to create the impression that the PFIPC was a legitimate federal government agency.

Police disclosed that the investigation was initiated after the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on October 17, 2025, over the activities of individuals allegedly forging official appointment letters purportedly issued from the office.

The petition added that preliminary findings showed the forged documents contained falsified signatures, reference numbers, official seals, and the Nigerian Coat of Arms, and that they were allegedly used to appoint individuals into the non-existent PFIPC.

 

Atiku demands Gbajabiamila’s suspension over fresh allegation

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2027 elections, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into fresh corruption allegations against Gbajabiamila.

He also urged President Tinubu to toe the path of his predecessor, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who suspended his former SGF, Babachir Lawal, over the alleged grass-cutting scam.

Buhari later sacked Lawal after a report by a three-man panel led by the then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo indicted him. However, an FCT High Court eventually discharged and acquitted the former SGF and five others of the N544m grass-cutting contract scandal.

Atiku’s remarks followed a Peoples Gazette’s report alleging that Gbajabiamila illegally diverted N54 billion in oil and gas royalties from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission through alleged unlawful presidential approval.

The former vice president, in a statement on X by Atiku Media Office and shared by his spokesperson Paul Ibe, said the allegation was too grave to be ignored, insisting that public officials should be held accountable regardless of their position.

 

Gbajabiamila has not publicly responded to the allegation.

The statement read, “This issue goes beyond partisan politics; it’s about the impunity of corruption that undermines the welfare and future of ordinary Nigerians. This level of corruption is unprecedented, and the government can’t pretend to be prosecuting opposition figures for corruption, while corruption is growing like weeds under its own nose.

“You can’t preach the rule of law when your own officials are awarded the trophy of untouchability. Gbajabiamila must be held accountable like every other public official and independently investigated to give him full opportunity to defend himself against the brazen act of corruption as detailed in the Gazette report.

“Former President Buhari suspended his SGF, Babachir Lawal, from office to allow for an unfettered investigation, and Gbajabiamila shouldn’t be treated differently.”

Atiku further stated that the Tinubu administration had not responded adequately to allegations involving senior government officials.

He said, “Given the apathetic and lackadaisical attitude of the Tinubu administration to the gale of corruption scandals against the Chief of Staff, it’s apparent that the government is just going through the motions to fool Nigerians.

“Democracy is public service, and when political office holders prioritise the amassing of personal wealth while ordinary people are dying of hunger and preventable diseases, the Tinubu administration cannot pretend to be serving the people.”